Israel's trade union to go on general strike Monday to demand Gaza hostage deal: Day 331 of the Gaza war

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In two statements, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for targeting buildings being used by Israeli soldiers in Manara, adjacent to the southern Lebanese village of Houla, and Shtula, adjacent to the southern Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab, in response to Israeli attacks on southern Lebanese villages and homes.

The strike on Beit Lif killed one person and wounded two others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Among the injured, a woman is in "serious" condition. The identities of the three victims were not immediately known.

Here's an update on the situation in southern Lebanon:

- Israeli artillery targeted the village of Taybeh (Marjayoun), local residents reported.

- Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a new strike, with "missiles," against the position of "Samaka," in the contested heights of Kfar Shouba. 

The situation in southern Lebanon:

- Israeli air force bombed Beit Yahoun (Bint Jbeil), according to local residents.

- A strike targeted a house in Odaisseh (Marjayoun). Ambulances are heading to the scene.

- Hezbollah claimed to have fired artillery shells at the sites of “Jal al-Alam,” opposite Naqoura (Sour), and “Ramieh,” opposite Ramieh (Bint Jbeil).

An examination at the Institute of Forensic Medicine revealed that the six hostages whose bodies were found by the Israeli army in Rafah were "shot several times at close range," the Israeli Health Ministry said, quoted by Haaretz.

According to the ministry, the hostages were killed 48 to 72 hours before the autopsy, "that is, either Thursday or early Friday morning."

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed Gaza as well as regional and global developments in a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (known as MBS) on Sunday.

“Stating that Israeli attacks and human rights violations must be stopped and a lasting cease-fire must be established, President Erdogan underscored the importance of joint action by Islamic countries with regard to this issue,” Erdogan’s office said in a post on X.

The official Saudi Press Agency also said that MBS “affirmed in a phone call with the Turkish president the kingdom’s keenness to unify Arab and Islamic efforts to support the Palestinian people as they face a brutal aggression by the Israeli occupation forces.”

Dozens of protesters demanding a hostage deal block the Tel Aviv highway, Haaretz reports.

According to local residents quoted by L'Orient Today's correspondent, an Israeli fighter plane bombed a house in Beit Lif (Bint Jbeil), and ambulances went to the scene.

According to Haaretz, three Israeli soldiers were injured, one seriously, in a "rocket attack" on Kfar Yuval, a town in northern Israel opposite Khiam (Marjayoun). L'Orient Today reported earlier that Hezbollah had claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on an Israeli military patrol near the "Kfar Yuval checkpoint," which caused injuries, according to the party. 

The family of Israeli hostage Carmel Gat, whose body was found in Gaza on Sunday night, said they refused to speak to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he asked to meet with them, Haaretz reported, adding that the family had called for people to take to the streets in her memory.

In a statement offering condolences to the family of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the six hostages rescued who died in Gaza, the families of the American hostages deplored "further evidence that Hamas is killing hostages in captivity."

"This is a cruel reminder that with each passing day, the chances of bringing someone home alive are seriously compromised," Haaretz reported. They also called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "conclude the deal with Hamas and bring the hostages home to their loved ones. It is past time to bring all the hostages home ... For the remaining 101 hostages and their families, this nightmare must end."

The situation in southern Lebanon:

- Israeli artillery hit the outskirts of Naqoura (Sour).

- Artillery shells also struck Kfar Kila (Marjayoun).

- Rockets were fired from the western border area towards Israeli positions. This firing has not yet been claimed.

Ahead of his upcoming journey to Asia and Oceania, Pope Francis called for a cease-fire in Gaza, where he stressed, in a statement, that polio is now a health emergency.

“My thoughts on the conflict in Palestine and Israel, which risks spreading to other Palestinian cities. I appeal not to stop the negotiations and to cease fire immediately, release the hostages, and rescue the population in Gaza, where many diseases, including polio, are also spreading,” the pontiff said.

The Israeli army said its air force struck what it called a Hamas “command and control center” located inside the former “Safad” school in Gaza City, reported Al-Jazeera. It added that the army said its forces would continue to “operate firmly against terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, which systematically exploit schools and other civilian infrastructure for their terrorist activities."

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for two new attacks against Israeli positions: At 4:40 p.m., with "missiles" launched against Israeli soldiers near Margaliot, opposite the Lebanese village of Markaba (Marjayoun), and against an Israeli military patrol near the "Kfar Yuval checkpoint," opposite Khiam (Marjayoun).

Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport will suspend operations from 8 a.m. Monday, Haaretz reports, as calls for a general strike grow at the request of the hostages' families.

Israel's powerful trade union, the Histadrut, declared a "general strike" for Monday in order to force Benjamin Netanyahu's government to reach an agreement for the release of the hundred hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.

"We must stop this abandonment of hostages ... Tomorrow at 06:00 a.m., the entire Israeli economy will be on general strike," declared the head of the Histadrut, Arnon Bar-David, at a press conference. 

Two Palestinians were killed in the northern occupied West Bank, where the Israeli army is continuing for the fifth consecutive day a large operation launched against Palestinian armed groups, the Palestinian Health Ministry announced.

Since the launch of these Israeli raids, during which tanks and bulldozers destroyed many streets and electricity, water and telecommunications networks, particularly in Jenin and in several refugee camps, at least 24 Palestinians have been killed, according to the ministry. Palestinian armed groups have announced that at least 14 of them were fighters.

The head of the Histadrut Israeli workers' union has decided to order a general strike on Monday to protest against the Netanyahu government and demand a hostage agreement. This is an unprecedented measure not taken since Oct. 7. The last time it happened was in March 2023, after Netanyahu tried to fire Defense Minister Gallant, reported journalist Barak Ravid.

Hundreds of people are demonstrating outside the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem to demand a hostage agreement, Haaretz reports.

The Israeli army announced on Sunday that it had shot dead a Palestinian “suspected of carrying out the armed attack” that killed three Israeli policemen in the south of the occupied West Bank in the morning.

The man was “barricaded in a residential building” and was “eliminated on the spot,” said the Israeli army, which has been conducting a vast operation against Palestinian armed groups in the northern West Bank since Wednesday. Since then, there have been three attacks on Jewish settlements or Israeli police officers in the south of the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967.

The situation in southern Lebanon:

- Israeli artillery fire targeted the outskirts of Wazzani and Shebaa (Hasbaya).

- A drone fired flammable materials on the outskirts of Odaisseh (Marjayoun).

- Artillery shells targeted the surroundings of Khiam and Odaisseh (Marjayoun).

The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that an Israeli strike on Aita al-Shaab yesterday left four people injured.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was "shocked" by the "senseless killing" of six Israeli hostages in Gaza by Hamas, out of X. "Hamas must release all hostages now, and a cease-fire agreement must be agreed by all parties immediately to end the suffering," he said. 

Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai announced that the Tel Aviv municipality would not meet with the public on Monday, from morning until noon, in support of the hostages' families, Haaretz reported.

Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli surveillance equipment at the Israeli site of Rwaisat al-Alam in the disputed Kfar Shouba hills at 2:47 p.m.

A coordination meeting in Sour brought together the Amal Movement's Municipal Affairs Office, the Islamic Scouts Association's Civil Defense and Hezbollah's Islamic Health Authority to “enhance joint efforts in the southern region, particularly amid the ongoing conflict,” a joint statement said.

The discussion focused on “improving emergency response, rescue operations, and public safety measures.”

The attendees emphasized the “importance of guiding citizens during emergencies, avoiding targeted areas, and facilitating the work of emergency personnel.”

The meeting reaffirmed the “unity and cooperation between the Health Authority and the Scouts Association's Civil Defense, stressing a shared commitment to the region's safety and well-being."

For more information about the first responders in southern Lebanon, read Sally Abou AlJoud's story on the medics working under fire.

The Forum of Families of Israeli Hostages Kidnapped by Hamas called on Israelis to demonstrate this evening in Tel Aviv to demand "a total blockade of the country and the implementation of an agreement to release the hostages."

"For eleven months now, [the] hostages have been neglected," stated the group, which is appealing to the Histadrut, the powerful trade union.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid had already called on the Histadrut, municipalities and employers to go on a "general strike" on his Facebook page.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called on Israel's security cabinet must reverse its decision Thursday to maintain an Israeli military presence in the Philadelphi Corridor between southern Gaza and Egypt. Gallant was the only person to vote against the decision Thursday night, Haaretz reported Friday.

"It is too late for the hostages who were killed in cold blood, but those who are still in the hands of Hamas must return home," the defense minister added on X. 

EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said he was "horrified by the killing of six Israeli hostages from Hamas" whose bodies were found in the Gaza Strip.

"These innocent young men and women should have been brought to safety long ago and reunited with their loved ones. We stand with all the hostages," Borrell said on X. "We need a cease-fire to end this tragedy and bring all the hostages home," he added.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated the need for the "unconditional release" of hostages held in Gaza and an end to the war, following the discovery of the bodies of six hostages in the southern Gaza Strip.

“I will never forget my meeting last October with the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin and other families. Today’s tragic news is a devastating reminder of the need for the unconditional release of all hostages and an end to the nightmare of war in Gaza,” he wrote on X. The body of Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American, was recovered by the Israeli military on Saturday.

The Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip announced a new death toll of 40,738 in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war with Israel, now in its eleventh month.

At least 47 people have been killed in the past 24 hours, the ministry said in a statement, adding that 94,154 people have been injured in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7.

A senior member of the Palestinian Hamas movement told AFP that "some" of the six hostages whose remains were found Saturday by the Israeli army "were part of the list of hostages to be released that Hamas had approved. "

Israeli media reports say that Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin and two Israelis, Carmel Gat and Eden Yerushalmi, were on a list of hostages to be released during the first phase of a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, which has been under negotiation for several months.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called on the head of the Histadrut labor federation to announce a general strike, Haaretz reports. Benjamin "Netanyahu and the cabinet of death have decided not to save the hostages. I call on the Histadrut (Israeli workers' main labor union), employers and local authorities to shut down the economy," Lapid said.

The mayor of Givatayim, in central Israel, announced that the municipal authorities of this town will go on strike tomorrow Monday "to demand the return of the hostages," calling on other mayors to join the movement. "The idea that military pressure will bring back the hostages alive has become obsolete," said the mayor.

Following the announcement of the recovery of the bodies of the six hostages in Gaza, Israel has been rocked by a wave of protests across the country demanding the release of the remaining hostages still held by Hamas, Haaretz reports. The outlet cites sit-ins in Ra'anana, in central Israel, in Tel Aviv, in northern Israel, and in Jerusalem. 

The Houthis claimed yesterday to have carried out an attack on a merchant ship off the coast of Yemen, with a multinational naval force earlier reporting that a Liberian-flagged ship was targeted by two ballistic missiles that exploded nearby.

"The Yemeni armed forces ... carried out a military operation against the ship 'GROTON' in the Gulf of Aden," Yemeni Houthi rebel spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a televised statement. He added that the attack had "hit the ship in a precise and direct manner," stressing that it was the second attack on the ship "after the first one on Aug. 3."

Three Israeli police officers, including a woman, were killed in an "armed attack" in the south of the occupied West Bank, announced the commander of the Israeli police in this Palestinian territory where the Israeli army is carrying out a vast "anti-terrorist" operation.

Commander Ouzi Levy spoke to the press alongside National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a far-right settler. "Instead of releasing terrorists, we should shoot them in the head," Ben Gvir said. "The right to life [of Israelis] is more important than the freedom of movement of residents under the Palestinian Authority," added the minister, who supports the annexation of the entire West Bank.

Two of the victims are in their thirties, while the third, a man in his fifties, succumbed to his injuries after his evacuation, detailed the Magen David Adom, the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross. On the night of Friday to Saturday, two attacks carried out by Palestinians had already targeted Jewish settlements in the same region.

In the Gaza Strip, a polio vaccination campaign has officially been launched, after the first case was recently confirmed in the besieged Palestinian territory in a ten-month-old baby. The campaign, led by teams from the Ministry of Health, UNRWA and NGOs, according to the Gazan government, aims to vaccinate more than 640,000 children under the age of 10 in the territory where polio was eradicated 25 years ago.

The campaign will take place in three phases, in the center, south and north of the Gaza Strip.

On Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that Israel had agreed to a series of three-day "humanitarian pauses" for each phase.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Israel is continuing its vast military operation, which has sparked concern and protests from the international community. As part of this operation described as "anti-terrorist", which began on Wednesday, the Israeli army sent columns of armored vehicles supported by aircraft to Jenin, Tulkarem, Toubas and their refugee camps, strongholds of armed groups fighting against Israel.

"Electricity and water are completely cut off in the refugee camp," and "80 percent of the neighborhoods [of the city] no longer have water supply," lamented Bachir Matahine, the spokesperson for the municipality of Jenin, quoted by the Palestinian news agency Wafa. At least 22 Palestinians, mainly fighters, have been killed by the Israeli army in the West Bank since Wednesday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. All "terrorists," the Israeli army said. Hamas and Islamic Jihad said at least 14 of the dead were fighting in their ranks.

After being called by the families of the Israeli hostages to make a public appearance following the announcement of the deaths of six of them, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "Hamas refuses to negotiate. Those who murder hostages do not want an agreement."

In remarks reported by Haaretz, he added that "Israel will not rest until it reaches those in Hamas who murdered the hostages." He said he and his government were determined to reach an agreement to free the remaining hostages and ensure Israel's security. Threatening Hamas, he said: "We will pursue you, we will catch you and we will settle your score.

In southern Lebanon, during the night, the following strikes were reported:

- Fighter jets launched several missiles on Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil) around 8 p.m. yesterday evening, then at 2 a.m.

- At 10 p.m., Kfar Kila (Marjayoun) was bombed by the Israeli air force.

- Artillery fire targeted an area between Aita al-Shaab and Ramieh (Bint Jbeil) around 11 p.m.

Last night, Hezbollah announced that it had simultaneously targeted, at 7:30 p.m., two Israeli positions with rocket fire: The site of "Zebdine" in the contested Shebaa Farms, and that of "Ramtha" on the contested heights of Kfar Shouba.

Yesterday, "in a tunnel under the city of Rafah, Israeli forces recovered six bodies of hostages held by Hamas," including that of Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, U.S. President Joe Biden announced in a statement, saying he was "devastated and outraged."

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the hostages had been "killed in cold blood by Hamas" and Israeli President Isaac Herzog said that "the heart of the entire nation [was] broken into a thousand pieces."

Two are women and four are men: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino, the Israeli military said.

"An agreement for the return of the hostages has been on the table for two months. Without the delays, the sabotage and the pretexts, those whose deaths we learned of this morning would certainly still be alive," the Hostages' Families Forum fumed.

The U.S. president promised that his country would continue "to work around the clock to reach an agreement that secures the release of the remaining hostages." "I believe we are close to reaching an agreement," he added.

Hamas, via a statement from a member of its political bureau, Izzat Rishq, said that the responsibility for the deaths of these hostages lies with Israel "which continues to wage a war of extermination and to prevent a cease-fire agreement," and with "the American administration, which supports and is a partner " in the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip. "The prisoners whose bodies were found in the Gaza Strip were killed by Zionist bombings," he added.

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Thank you for joining us for our live coverage of the ongoing war in Gaza and its regional and global impacts.