Netanyahu apologizes to the family of the murdered hostage – the opposition calls for a general strike

He accused Hamas of killing them in “cold blood” and said Israel would hold the group accountable.

He also accused Hamas of torpedoing ongoing efforts at a ceasefire.

– Whoever kills hostages does not want an agreement, he said.

On Sunday, he also met the family of hostage Aleksandr Lobanov.

– I would like to say how much it pains me and how much I ask to be forgiven for not being able to bring Sasha home alive, he said.

Should be released

The hostages were found in a tunnel south of Rafah, not far from where another hostage was rescued alive last week.

– Earlier today, in a tunnel under the city of Rafah, Israeli forces found the bodies of six hostages held by Hamas, US President Joe Biden said in a statement.

Israel also confirms in a separate statement via its military that hostages have been found.

Several of them would have been released in the event of a ceasefire agreement, a senior Hamas source told the AFP news agency.

Five of the dead were captured in the Hamas attack on the Supernova music festival on October 7 last year, the sixth was taken from a kibbutz.

The military states that they were killed shortly before they were to be rescued by Israeli forces.

Accuses the prime minister

Critics in Israel accuse Netanyahu of delaying ceasefire talks, a charge he denies.

Demonstrators blocked streets around Israel on Sunday demanding that the prime minister take responsibility.

– Take responsibility for your mistakes. Take responsibility for the sabotage. Take responsibility for their abandonment. Take responsibility for the hostages who were killed in captivity, says a statement from the Forum for Missing and Hostages’ Families.

They say the hostages would probably have been alive had it not been for delays, sabotage and excuses.

Calling for a general strike

Opposition leader Yair Lapid and family members of the hostages have called for a general strike in Israel.

Discussions about whether to call for a general strike are ongoing and an announcement will be made within the next few hours, the Israeli labor organization Histadrut has stated, according to the daily newspaper Haaretz.

Municipal workers in Tel Aviv have confirmed that they are going on a half-day sympathy strike.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called for such a strike on Sunday to pressure the government into a deal to release the remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip.

He called on all Israelis to join a large protest demonstration in Tel Aviv later Sunday.