Anger in Israel boiled over Sunday after the nation’s military said it recovered the bodies of six hostages, including a young Israeli-American man, held by Hamas, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to the slain hostages’ families even as protests erupted across the country decrying his leadership.
Major demonstrations in Tel Aviv and other major Israeli cities broke out just hours after the Israel Defense Forces said it found the six hostages in a tunnel in Rafah, a city 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.
Monday is expected to bring more turmoil, with nationwide labor strikes expected to shut down much of the Israeli economy.
The IDF announcement represented a gut punch to an Israeli public desperate to see the remaining hostages brought home safely. They’ve been held by Hamas for nearly 11 months, having been abducted during the Palestinian terrorist group’s rampage through Israel on Oct. 7, which also killed more than 1,200 Israelis.
The U.S. and other third-party mediators have been working extensively over the past several weeks to secure a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas that would pause fighting in Gaza in exchange for the release of the hostages.
World leaders, including President Biden, condemned the apparent cold-blooded killings of prisoners by Hamas. But deep anger and frustration with Mr. Netanyahu neared a fever pitch Sunday as other Israeli officials and huge segments of the public turned their fire on the Israeli government.
Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of Israeli-American hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” program on Sunday that he believes 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 strongly disputes that characterization and insists he’s doing everything possible to bring the hostages home. But the deep anger and mistrust of the current government has extended well beyond the families of hostages.
“Eden, Carmel, Hersh, Uri, 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 went on to say that his city would join in the massive general strike planned for Monday.
“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 dead hostages as Ori Danino, 25; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Almog Sarusi, 27; and Alexander Lobanov, 33. Like Mr. Goldberg-Polin, they were abducted from an Israeli music festival by Hamas gunmen on Oct. 7. The sixth hostage, Carmel Gat, 40, was abducted from the nearby farming community of Be’eri.
Mr. Netanyahu spoke with family members of some of those slain hostages Sunday and apologized for failing to bring them home safely. But the family members of several of the hostages refused to take Mr. Netanyahu’s phone calls, according to Israeli media reports, underscoring how the prime minister is now viewed by some as personally responsible.
Mr. Netanyahu stressed that he still wants a cease-fire deal. The same cannot be said for Hamas, the Israeli leader stressed.
“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.
In his own statement, President Biden pressed for a cease-fire deal but blasted Hamas for its apparent actions. 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.”
Netanyahu under fire
Hamas has offered to release the hostages in return for a full end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including some high-profile militants held in Israeli jails.
Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, said the six dead hostages would still be alive if Israel had accepted a U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal that Hamas said it had agreed to back in July, The Associated Press reported Sunday.
Some U.S. officials believe the tragic deaths of the six hostages could provide new momentum to get a deal done between the two sides.
“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 fully destroyed and that the IDF cannot and will not end its military operation in Gaza until that objective has been achieved. But some critics, including within his own government, seem to increasingly see Mr. Netanyahu personally as an impediment to a cease-fire and, by extension, the return of hostages.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported over the weekend that Mr. Netanyahu got into a shouting match at a security Cabinet meeting last week with his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, who accused him of prioritizing control of a strategic corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border — a major sticking point in the cease-fire talks — over the lives of the hostages.
Meanwhile, the stage seems to be set for a massive, perhaps unprecedented demonstration Monday as key sectors of the Israeli economy appear set to go on strike. 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, is calling on doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers from all fields 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 will take part in the strike Monday.
“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 Sunday, according to Reuters.
Of the 250 hostages taken by Hamas, about 100 are still believed to be held by the group, though some of them are likely already dead, Israeli officials have said.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.