Anger in Israel boiled over Sunday after the nation’s military said it recovered the bodies of six Hamas hostages, including a young Israeli American man. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to the hostages’ families as protests decrying his leadership erupted across the country.
Demonstrations in Tel Aviv and other cities broke out just hours after the Israel Defense Forces said it found the six hostages in a tunnel in Rafah, in the southern portion of the Gaza Strip. The IDF said the six, including Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, were killed shortly before Israeli forces arrived.
Nationwide labor strikes on Monday are expected to shut down much of the Israeli economy.
The IDF announcement represented a gut punch to an Israeli public desperate for the safe return of the remaining hostages. Hamas has been holding the hostages for nearly 11 months after abducting them during a bloody rampage in Israel on Oct. 7. The Palestinian terrorist group also killed more than 1,200 Israelis.
The U.S. and other third-party mediators have been working extensively with Israel and Hamas over the past several weeks to secure a cease-fire deal in Gaza in exchange for the release of the hostages.
President Biden and other world leaders condemned Hamas’ killings of the hostages, but deep anger and frustration with Mr. Netanyahu neared a fever pitch as Israeli officials and vast segments of the public turned fire on their government.
SEE ALSO: WATCH: Hersh Goldberg-Polin laid to rest in Jerusalem
Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of Israeli American hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, told CBS’s “Face the Nation” program on Sunday that he thinks Mr. Netanyahu’s top priority is to remain in power.
“I don’t think it’s just my opinion alone. I think the vast majority of Israelis now have come to believe, by his actions, not his words, but by his actions, that he’s been driven primarily by a desire to retain power with a narrow, very radical messianic coalition in the Israeli government,” Mr. Dekel-Chen said.
Mr. Netanyahu disputes that characterization and insists he is doing everything possible to bring the hostages home.
Still, the deep anger and mistrust of the government extend well beyond the families of hostages.
“Eden, Carmel, Hersh, Ori, Almog and Alex should have been at home by now. Alive. The Israeli government abandoned them, but the State of Israel is us,” Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai posted on X, referring to the six dead hostages by their first names.
Mr. Huldai said his city would join the massive general strike on Monday.
SEE ALSO: General strike in Israel over hostages found dead in Gaza reflects political divisions
“As a sign of solidarity with the abductees and their families, the municipality of Tel Aviv-Jaffa joins the strike,” he posted on X, according to English-language translations. “Tomorrow, starting in the morning until noon, there will be no public reception and we will allow all female and male employees to go out and support the families’ struggle. Take to the streets.”
The Israeli army identified the other hostages killed as Ori Danino, 25; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Almog Sarusi, 27; and Alexander Lobanov, 33. Hamas abducted them and Mr. Goldberg-Polin from an Israeli music festival on Oct. 7. Carmel Gat, 40, was abducted from the nearby farming community of Be’eri.
Mr. Netanyahu spoke with family members of some of those hostages and apologized for failing to bring them home safely. Family members of other hostages refused to take Mr. Netanyahu’s phone calls, Israeli media reports said.
Mr. Netanyahu stressed that he still wants a cease-fire deal and the same cannot be said for Hamas.
“In recent days, as Israel has been holding intensive negotiations with the mediator in a supreme effort to reach a deal, Hamas is continuing to steadfastly refuse all proposals. Even worse, at the exact same time, it murdered six of our hostages,” he said. Whoever murders hostages does not want a deal.
“For our part, we will not relent. The government of Israel is committed, and I am personally committed, to continue striving toward a deal that will return all of our hostages and ensure our security and our existence,” he said.
Mr. Biden pressed for a cease-fire deal and blasted Hamas. He also expressed condolences for the death of Mr. Goldberg-Polin.
“I have worked tirelessly to bring their beloved Hersh safely to them and am heartbroken by the news of his death. It is as tragic as it is reprehensible,” Mr. Biden said. “Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages.”
Later Sunday, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan held a virtual meeting with the families of American hostages still held by Hamas, the White House said in a statement.
Mr. Sullivan “discussed the ongoing diplomatic push across the highest levels of the U.S. government to drive towards a deal that secures the release of the remaining hostages,” the statement said.
Netanyahu under fire
Hamas has offered to release the hostages in return for a complete end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including some high-profile militants, in Israel.
Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, said the six hostages would still be alive had Israel agreed to a U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal that Hamas accepted in July, The Associated Press reported.
Some U.S. officials said the deaths of the six hostages could renew momentum to reach a deal.
“We’ve got to get this hostage release and cease-fire deal that the two halves have to come together. You’re not going to see one without the other,” Sen. Tim Kaine, Virginia Democrat, told “Fox News Sunday.”
“It’s been tantalizingly close. We’re not there yet, but hopefully, the tragedy will even put more of a sense of urgency in our efforts,” Mr. Kaine said.
Since Oct. 7, Mr. Netanyahu has not wavered in his stance that Hamas must be destroyed and that the IDF cannot and will not end its military operation in Gaza until that objective has been achieved. Some critics, including within his government, seem to increasingly see Mr. Netanyahu as an impediment to a cease-fire and, by extension, the return of hostages.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported over the weekend that a shouting match erupted at a security Cabinet meeting last week as Defense Minister Yoav Gallant accused Mr. Netanyahu of prioritizing control of a strategic corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border — a central sticking point in the cease-fire talks — over the lives of the hostages.
Meanwhile, the stage was set for a massive, perhaps unprecedented, demonstration of key sectors of the Israeli economy. A leading forum of hostage families called for a “complete halt” of the country.
“A deal for the return of the hostages has been on the table for over two months. Were it not for the delays, sabotage, and excuses, those whose deaths we learned about this morning would likely still be alive,” the group said in a statement.
The Times of Israel reported that a leading doctors group, The White Coats — Healthcare Professionals for Democracy, called on doctors, nurses and other health care workers to join the strikes.
“We can no longer carry on with business as usual and stand by while the values of the sanctity of life and mutual responsibility are trampled before our eyes, and the hostages pay with their lives,” the group said in a statement, according to the Israeli newspaper.
Arnon Bar-David, the chief of Israel’s Histadrut labor union, said his workers would participate in the strike.
“We must reach a deal. A deal is more important than anything else. We are getting body bags instead of a deal,” Mr. Bar-David said at a news conference, according to Reuters.
Israel officials estimate that Hamas is still holding 100 of the 250 people it abducted on Oct. 7, though some are likely dead.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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