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- Massive protests have erupted in Israel over the government's failure to secure a hostage deal.
- Public outrage followed the discovery of six hostages' bodies in Gaza over the weekend.
- A nationwide strike has caused disruptions to banks, schools, transportation, and hospitals.
Nearly 11 months have passed since the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel that killed over 1,000 people and resulted in 251 hostages being seized, triggering a brutal retaliation against Gaza that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Now, public sentiment in Israel appears to have reached a breaking point, with strikes across the country.
"It's a mix of grief and anger," Niv Keidar, who helped to block a major intercity highway in Tel Aviv on Sunday night, told Business Insider.
He said the mood had resulted in hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets all over Israel and making the demand: "There must be a deal that will bring back alive those people that are still possible to rescue."
Sunday night saw the largest protests in Israel since the Hamas terror attacks, with many Israelis expressing anger at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government for failing to secure a hostage-ceasefire deal.
According to The Times of Israel, some 280,000 gathered in Tel Aviv overnight. Large protests also took place in Jerusalem and Ra'anana.
On Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces found the bodies of six hostages in an underground tunnel in Gaza.
Israel said an autopsy showed that the hostages had been shot at close range.
A group representing the hostages' families criticized Netanyahu's government, claiming the hostages could still be alive if a deal had been reached.
In a post on X on Sunday, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Netanyahu's government has failed to do what a government is expected to do — "return its sons and daughters home."
"Netanyahu: Enough the excuses," it continued. "Enough with the spin. Enough of the procrastination! It is time to return our abductees home."
The group called for a nationwide protest to demand the release of the remaining hostages — around 100 are believed to still be in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities, although it is unclear how many are alive.
On Sunday, Israeli protesters blocked major roads and highways, while the country's largest labor union, Histadrut, called for a general strike.
Arnon Bar-David, the head of Histadrut, which represents hundreds of thousands of workers, said: "We are getting body bags instead of a deal."
The strike caused disruption to banks, schools, and transportation, and temporarily closed Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport on Monday.
Hospitals were also functioning at a reduced capacity.
Gili Roman, whose sister was kidnapped on October 7 but later released, and whose relative Carmel Gat was found among the six bodies recovered by the IDF, participated in the protests.
He told Business Insider he feels angry and concerned.
"We always need to remember that this anger is toward Hamas and their brutal tactics," he said.
But he added: "Hamas is not our government, they're not accountable to us, and the people who are accountable to us should not be so disattached from the Israeli people, public opinion, and the world opinion that calls for a long time to prioritize human lives and the hostages."
He said that Netanyahu and his cabinet were "prioritizing themselves and different military tactics and sacrificing civilians for this."