Netanyahu defiant as protesters demanding a ceasefire-for-hostages deal bring Israel to a halt

By Helen Regan, Irene Nasser, Tamar Michaelis, Dana Karni, Andrew Raine and Rob Picheta, CNN

(CNN) — Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to Israel’s streets in fresh fury on Monday over the government’s failure to secure a ceasefire-for-hostages deal with Hamas. Demonstrations could be seen in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Caesarea and other sites across the country, fueled by the killing in Gaza of six hostages, whose bodies were retrieved by Israeli soldiers this weekend.

Several gatherings targeted the homes of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with protesters lighting fires and chanting: “You are the leader – you are guilty!” near one of Netanyahu’s private residences in Caesarea. In Tel Aviv, protesters outside the US Embassy chanted “Shame!” late into the evening, video showed.

Netanyahu has been accused of stalling efforts for a deal by some hostage families and their supporters. More than 100 hostages, including 35 believed to be dead, are still being held in Gaza – the vast majority of them taken during Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, when some 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 taken captive

The scenes outside the Israeli leader’s homes culminated a day of anger that brought much of the country to a halt, following a call by the country’s largest labor union, known as Histadrut, to shut down the “entire” economy. Flights in and out of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport were also stopped for two hours.

But in a press conference Monday evening, the Israeli leader struck a note of defiance, batting away criticisms – including from US President Joe Biden – that he is not doing enough to secure a deal. He asked for “forgiveness” from the families of the six hostages for failing to bring them back alive, but insisted it should be Hamas that “has to make the concessions.”

He also vowed to retaliate and extract a “heavy price” from the militant group that controls Gaza, for the killing of the six hostages, whose autopsies showed they were shot at short range on Thursday or Friday morning.

Hamas meanwhile escalated its own threats on Monday, with a public warning that more hostages held in Gaza would return “inside coffins” if Israel attempts to free them militarily.

A statement released by the militant group said that its fighters guarding prisoners held in the Palestinian enclave had received “new instructions” on how to deal with hostages if Israeli forces get close, and released an illustrated poster apparently showing hostages threatened with a gun.

Monday saw the largest general strike to have taken place in Israel since March 2023, when there was a similar mass walkout over Netanyahu’s controversial attempts to overhaul the country’s judiciary.

According to union Histadrut, hundreds of thousands of Israelis joined the protests Monday, just a day after half a million took to the streets on Sunday for what protest organizers said was one of the biggest nationwide protests since the outbreak of Israel’s war on Hamas. Israeli police said they had seven demonstrators in Tel Aviv for “violating public order and disrupting traffic.”

‘Netanyahu has made it impossible’

Netanyahu’s defiant stance following the discovery of the six hostage bodies has thrown further doubt on the negotiations for a ceasefire-for-hostages deal.

Even before the killing of the six hostages, the talks had become bogged down, with one key disagreement centering on control of a border area known as the Philadelphi corridor.

Netanyahu says control of the 14-kilometer (8.7-mile) strip of land along Gaza’s border with Egypt is needed to prevent Hamas from resuming arms smuggling through tunnels underneath it. However, the deployment of Israeli troops along the corridor has been a major point of contention between Israel and Hamas in the ceasefire talks, with Hamas saying Israeli troops must withdraw from the border zone.

“Hamas doesn’t want us to be there and that’s why I insist on being there,” the Israeli leader said on Monday.

During a cabinet meeting over the weekend, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had lambasted the Israeli government for what he said was prioritizing control of the corridor over a deal to free hostages, calling it a “moral disgrace.”

The relative of one of the hostages who was shot dead in southern Gaza also blamed Netanyahu and his stance on the corridor for their deaths. Gil Dickmann, the cousin of Carmel Gat, told CNN that the Israeli government “cold-bloodedly” crossed a “red line” by prioritizing the corridor over the lives of the hostages.

“We know that Hamas has agreed to a deal at some point, and Israel was the one putting on more and more terms and actually postponing the deal,” Dickmann said on Monday. “Right now, we know the decisions that our Prime Minister Netanyahu has made it impossible for Carmel and other hostages to return and put their lives in great danger, and that’s what killed them.”

But on Monday, even as he acknowledged dissent within his cabinet, Netanyahu doubled down.

“We’re not going to withdraw from the Philadelphi corridor,” Netanyahu told a press conference on Monday evening. “The axis of evil needs the Philadelphi corridor. We need to have it under our control,” he said.

Disagreements over the corridor are only one of the splits within the cabinet over the conduct of the war that have become increasingly public and rancorous in recent months, reflecting deep divisions at the top of Israel’s government.

Just on Monday, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he was using his power to prevent a “reckless deal” and ensure “that there will be no negotiations at all.”

He was speaking to members of Gvura, a right-wing organization representing the families of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza.

But American officials described new urgency in reaching a ceasefire-for-hostages deal. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said while meeting the families of Americans held hostage that “the next few days will be critical” in the push to free those still held by Hamas.

Alongside the strikes, the funeral of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the six hostages found dead, was held in Jerusalem on Monday. Speaking at the ceremony, Jon Goldberg-Polin said he hoped his son’s death would be “the fuel that will bring home the remaining 101 hostages.”

“Hersh, we failed you. We all failed you. You would not have failed you. You would have pushed harder for justice,” he said. “You would have worked to understand the other, to bridge differences.”

“The 23 years of life that we had with you were a blessing. We now will work to make your legacy a similar blessing,” Goldberg-Polin said. “You were a really great guy. I love you.”

Strike hits public services, schools

As well as an impact on flights, some Israeli municipalities said they joined the strike, including Tel Aviv and Haifa, according to a list from the Histadrut outlining who joined the action as well as statements from some of the cities.

The list also includes government ministries that impact a wide range of public services, the document shows, including parts of the Prime Minister’s Office, the Interior Ministry, and others. CNN has reached out to the Prime Minister’s Office for comment.

Hospitals and healthcare facilities worked on a weekend schedule and on an emergency basis, according to the statement.

The country’s teachers’ union said it would not join the strike, according to a statement from the union, though support staff at schools did.

However, Israel’s biggest universities joined the strike, including the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University.

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CNN’s Lauren Izso, Tara John, Michael Rios, Eugenia Yosef, Duarte Mendonca, Jo Shelley, Chris Liakos and Kaitlin Collins contributed reporting.