U.S. President Joe Biden is adding to the pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he isn’t doing enough to reach a cease-fire deal in Gaza.
A general strike in Israel to protest the failure to reach a deal and secure the return of hostages led to closures and other disruptions around Israel on Monday, but it was ignored in some areas, reflecting deep political divisions.
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis poured into the streets Sunday in grief and anger after six hostages were found dead in Gaza. The families and much of the public blamed Netanyahu, saying they could have been returned alive in a deal with Hamas to end the nearly 11-month-old war.
But others support Netanyahu’s strategy of maintaining military pressure on Hamas, whose Oct. 7 attack into Israel triggered the war. They say it will force the militants to give in to Israeli demands and ultimately annihilate the group.
Israel’s largest trade union, the Histadrut, called for the general strike, the first since the start of the war. It aimed to shut down or disrupt major sectors of the economy, including banking, health care and the country’s main airport. But a court ruled it had to end early after the government called the strike politically motivated.
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Here’s the latest:
Biden says Netanyahu isn’t doing enough for a cease-fire deal
U.S. President Joe Biden says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not doing enough to reach a deal to free hostages in Gaza along with a cease-fire in its war with Hamas.
Biden spoke to reporters two days after six hostages, including one Israeli-American, were found after being killed by Hamas. Protests rocked Israel on Sunday.
Asked if Netanyahu was doing enough, Biden responded, “No.” Biden was arriving at the White House for a Situation Room meeting with advisers involved in negotiating a hostage deal and cease-fire. The president insisted that negotiators remain “very close” to a deal, adding that “hope springs eternal.”
Strike in Israel ends as court rules on government’s request
A rare general strike in Israel is ending after a labor court ruled that it must stop by 2:30 p.m. local time. The court accepted a petition from the government saying it was politically motivated.
The head of Israel’s largest trade union, the Histadrut, says it will abide by the court decision and has instructed members to return to work. Arnon Bar-David had called for the general strike, the first since the start of the war, as Israelis shared grief and anger over the discovery of six dead hostages in Gaza.
The strike aimed to shut down or disrupt major sectors of the economy, including banking and health care. Municipalities in Israel’s populated central area including Tel Aviv participated, but others including Jerusalem did not, reflecting deep political divisions.
Projectiles strike a ship in the Red Sea in a suspected Yemen rebel attack, officials say
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted a ship in the Red Sea on Monday, authorities said.
Two projectiles hit the vessel, and a third explosion occurred near the ship, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said.
“Damage control is underway,” UKMTO said. “There are no casualties onboard and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call.”
The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack. However, it can take the rebels hours or even days to acknowledge their assaults.
The Houthis have targeted more than 80 vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a United States-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets.
The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the U.K. to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.
Large-scale polio vaccinations begin in war-ravaged Gaza after first case in 25 years
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian health authorities and United Nations agencies on Sunday began a large-scale campaign of vaccinations against polio in the Gaza Strip, hoping to prevent an outbreak in the territory that has been ravaged by the Israel-Hamas war.
Authorities plan to vaccinate children in central Gaza until Wednesday before moving on to the more devastated northern and southern parts of the strip. The campaign began with a small number of vaccinations on Saturday and aims to reach about 640,000 children.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said more than 72,600 children received vaccines Sunday.
The World Health Organization has said Israel agreed to limited pauses in the fighting to facilitate the campaign. There were initial reports of Israeli strikes in central Gaza early Sunday, but it was not immediately known if anyone was killed or wounded. The pause ended Sunday afternoon, according to a schedule released by Israel.
Israel has said the vaccination program will continue through Sept. 9 and last eight hours a day.
Gaza recently reported its first polio case in 25 years — a 10-month-old boy, now paralyzed in a leg. The World Health Organization says the presence of a paralysis case indicates there could be hundreds more who have been infected but aren’t showing symptoms.
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