Six Bodies Found; Israel Erupts; Protests May Turn Into Strikes.

First the story of the bodies (vi Al Jazeera):

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.

Then came the protests (via Reuters):

Protests gripped Israel on Sunday following the death of six hostages in Gaza as frustration mounted with the country's leadership for failing to secure a ceasefire deal that would free Israeli captives.

Crowds estimated by Israeli media to number up to 500,000 strong demonstrated in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other cities, demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu do more to bring home the remaining 101 hostages. Israel estimates about a third of them are dead. Labour leaders urged workers to stage a one-day general strike on Monday.

The Israeli military announced the recovery of the bodies from a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, as a polio vaccination campaign began in the war-shattered Palestinian territory and violence flared in the occupied West Bank.

And now comes the proposed "general strike" in Israel (via The Times in Israel):

Histadrut Labor Federation chief Arnon Bar-David declared a general strike on Sunday afternoon over the government’s failure to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza. He stated that “a deal is more important than anything else,” in light of mounting outrage over the killing of six captives by Hamas.

During a press conference in Tel Aviv, Bar-David said that the action — the union’s first foray into politics since October 7 — will start at 6 a.m. and is currently planned as a one-day strike, with decisions beyond Monday to be made later. (It was also announced that Ben Gurion Airport would be shut down at 8 a.m., with all incoming and outgoing flights canceled, but reports later Sunday indicated the airport could function as usual, and passengers were advised to check for updated information.)

“It is impossible to stand idly by in the face of the cries of our children who are being murdered in the tunnels in Gaza. It is unacceptable,” he declared after meeting with representatives of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum — which earlier Sunday called on the public “to join a massive demonstration, demanding a complete shutdown of the country” and appealed to the powerful Histadrut to stage a mass strike.

The call angered the government, with far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich branding the strike illegal and saying that the union was playing into the hands of Hamas. Several cities and municipalities announced they would not take part.

The Histadrut’s call was taken up by the Israel Business Forum, which represents most private-sector workers from 200 of the country’s largest companies, as well as Opposition Leader Yair Lapid.

If the strike happens (it's scheduled for 11pm EST), it will be an amazing even in world history...yet still disappointing that it took all of this death to get the working class into the streets to make the Powers That Be act on behalf of the people.