Israel will respond with full force to hostage deaths – Foreign Minister
As the general strike called by trade Unions continues, Israel’s Foreign Minister, Israel Katz says the country will “respond with full force” following the recovery of the bodies of six hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In a post on X, Katz blames Hamas for their deaths, saying they were “brutally executed to instil fear and attempt to fracture Israeli society”.
The Israel Defense Forces says the bodies were found in an underground tunnel in Southern Gaza on Saturday, and they had been killed shortly before troops arrived.
Hamas insists Israel is responsible for their deaths, as it has refused to sign a ceasefire deal.
Meanwhile, the businesses that had announced they would be impacted by the strike today was Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.
On Sunday , it said that the airport would close to departing flights between 08:00 and 10:00 local time (06:00 to 08:00 BST)
However, the airport’s website greeted visitors this morning with a banner that said the airport was operating as normal.
Flight trackers show some flights being delayed, some being diverted and others taking off relatively on time.
However, as the protests continue, Israeli media reported that the Israeli Government has filed an injunction with the National Labour Court against a General Strike.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich contacted Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara on Sunday requesting a petition for an injunction. It appears she approved the request on Monday, according to Haaretz.
The Regional Labour Court will hear a request for injunctions at 10:30 local time (08:30 BST) submitted by the Gevurah Forum, which opposes the hostage deal.
Gevurah Forum’s request states “this is clearly a political strike, blatantly illegal, carried out in a bullying manner”.
In a related development, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza says medical teams successfully vaccinated 72,611 children against polio yesterday.
Sunday saw the first in a series of “humanitarian pauses” in fighting, to allow children to be vaccinated against the virus.
The drive comes after UN officials said a 10-month-old baby is partially paralysed after contracting polio; Gaza’s first recorded case in 25 years.
Humanitarian groups say the virus has re-emerged as the war between Israel and Hamas has disrupted child vaccination programmes and caused damage to water and sanitation systems.
