by Brian Shilhavy
Editor, Health Impact News

The war in the Middle East continues to escalate, as Israelis took to the streets Sunday (September 1, 2024) after the bodies of six hostages who were being detained by Hamas were found dead.

Netanyahu claims they were “brutally murdered” while Hamas released a statement claiming Israeli airstrikes killed them.

Israel recovers bodies of six captives held in Gaza

Families of the Israeli captives have called on the government to sign a deal with Hamas to free about 100 people still in Gaza.

Israel’s military has announced that its troops have recovered the bodies of six captives, including a dual US national, from a tunnel in southern Gaza, as it continued its 11-month long, deadly assault on the Palestinian enclave.

More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched war on Gaza on October 7 following an attack led by Palestinian group Hamas that left more than 1,100 people dead.

The Palestinian fighters took about 250 captives in the wake of the attack. The coastal enclave has since been turned into rubble amid non-stop bombardment as Israel has been accused of stalling a ceasefire deal to free the captives.

The military said on Sunday that their remains were recovered “from an underground tunnel in the Rafah area” and returned to Israel where they were formally identified. It claimed that the captives were killed not long before their bodies were recovered.

The captives were identified as Almog Sarusi, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi and Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

Senior Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq said the six captives were killed in Israeli air strikes. Al-Risheq also blamed the United States for its “bias, support and partnership” in the 11-month war on the besieged territory.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to “settle the score” with Hamas, saying “we will hunt you down.”

“Those who kill hostages do not want an agreement” for a Gaza truce, Netanyahu said.

But a forum of captives’ families, who have been critical of Netanyahu’s handling of the issue, called for a massive protest later on Sunday, demanding a “complete halt of the country” to push for the implementation of a ceasefire and release of the remaining captives. (Full article.)

There were calls for a general strike on Monday (September 2, 2024) from Israel’s labor groups. September 2, 2024 is, ironically, “Labor Day” in the United States.

Israel’s main labour union calls strike as pressure mounts for hostage deal

JERUSALEM, Sept 1 (Reuters) – The head of Israel’s biggest labour union called for a general strike on Monday to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to bring back Israeli hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza, as thousands of protesters took to the streets.

The call for a one-day general strike by Arnon Bar-David, whose Histadrut union represents hundreds of thousands of workers, was backed by Israel’s main manufacturers and entrepreneurs in the high-tech sector.

Israel said earlier it had recovered the six bodies from a tunnel in southern Gaza where they were killed not long before Israeli troops reached them.

Ben Gurion Airport, Israel’s main air transport hub, will be closed from 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Monday, he said. Municipal services in Israel’s economic hub Tel-Aviv will also be shut for part of Monday.

Israel’s Manufacturers’ Association said it backed the strike and accused the government of failing in its “moral duty” to bring the hostages back alive. (Full article.)

Palestinian Resistance Forces Participate in the War in the West Bank

Meanwhile, the war in the West Bank entered its 5th day Sunday, with many Palestinian “resistance forces” called the “Axis of Resistance” now participating, including the Pakistani Al-Mujahideen Resistance movement, now engaging the Israeli military forces.

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Via https://vaccineimpact.com/2024/massive-protests-in-israel-against-netanyahu-after-6-hostages-found-dead/