Families of Israeli hostages kept captive in Gaza have called for a nationwide general strike next Sunday, in protest of the Israeli security cabinet’s recent decision to expand the war and take over Gaza City.

They were joined by the October 7 Council, which represents bereaved families of soldiers who fell at the start of the war.

Organizers said that the initiative would start as a grassroots effort primarily through private companies and citizens who will strike on Sunday to halt the economy.

The October 7 Council announced that “hundreds” of companies said that they would participate in the strike, as well as “thousands of citizens who have declared they will take the day off.”

Israel’s largest worker union, known as the Histadrut, hasn’t yet joined the strike. The families are expected to meet with Histadrut Chairman, Arnon Bar-David on Monday, August 11, 2025, in a bid to convince him to join forces.

The Histadrut has already staged a general strike in support of the hostages’ families last year. After the killing of six Israeli hostages by Hamas in September 2024, the union disrupted key sectors like transport, banking, healthcare, and joined widespread protests and demonstrations throughout the day. However, the Israeli government blasted their actions as political and moved to halt the strike through a labor court injunction.

Meanwhile, Israeli opposition leaders have endorsed and embraced the strike. Opposition leader, Yair Lapid asserted that the call by the families of the hostages for a general strike is “justified and appropriate.”

The Chairman of the Democrats party, Yair Golan, also announced that the party would join the strike and called “on all Israeli citizens – anyone who holds the values of life and mutual responsibility dear – to strike with us, to take to the streets, to resist and disrupt.”

The Israeli security cabinet decided on Friday, August 8, 2925, to move forward with a controversial plan to expand the war and take over Gaza City. The plan has provoked harsh criticism from the families of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza, 20 of whom are presumed to be alive, warning that the new military move could endanger the living hostages and sentence them to death. The plan also attracted international backlash.

Netanyahu Defends Government’s Plan To Take Over Gaza City

However, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu defended the escalation in a news conference, saying, “Contrary to false claims, this is the best way to end the war and the best way to end it speedily.”

Netanyahu told reporters that Israel has “no choice” but to “finish the job” and “defeat” Hamas. He said that 70-75% Gaza is under Israeli military control but Hamas has two remaining strongholds. One is Gaza City, he stated, and the “central camps” are the other.

He noted that Israel will allow civilians to go to designated safe zones where they will have “ample” food, security and medical care, adding that Israel’s goal is to avoid a humanitarian crisis.

Also, Netanyahu denied that Israel is implementing a “starvation policy” in Gaza, saying that if that was so, “no one in Gaza would have survived after two years of war.” He blamed Hamas for the aid crisis in Gaza, saying that the militant group has stolen aid destined for civilians. Netanyahu claimed that the only ones being “deliberately starved” in Gaza are the hostages.

He showed an image of what he said are tonnes of uncollected aid in Gaza, that Israel allowed in via the Kerem Shalom crossing, adding that there is a three-step plan to tackle this, including designating safe corridors for humanitarian aid distribution, increasing the number of safe distribution points managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and more air drops by Israeli forces and other partners.

Moreover, the Israeli Prime Minister stated that the new offensive for Gaza city will move “fairly quickly.” He emphasized that his goal is to get all the remaining living hostages out alive and recover the remains of those who have died. “If we don’t do anything, we are not going to get them out,” Netanyahu stressed, adding that a “war of attrition won’t get them out.”

He noted that Israel doesn’t want to stay in Gaza and that the goal is to make sure Hamas isn’t there.