Israeli trades union federation calls general strike to put pressure on Netanyahu government to reach Gaza hostage deal

The head of Israel's Histadrut labour union called for a general strike on Monday to pressure the government into reaching a deal to return Israeli hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.

Arnon Bar-David called on all civilian workers to join the strike and said Ben Gurion airport, Israel's main air transport hub, would be closed from 8 a.m. (0500 GMT)
Bar-David said that for now, the strike would just be for Monday but he sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government for failing to bring hostages back alive. A dozen bodies of hostages have been brought back to Israel in the past week. Some 101 still remain, although Israel believes one-third of them are no longer alive.
"The neglect of the economy must be stopped," Bar-David said at a news conference. "Israel must be returned to a reasonable routine... We must reach a deal. A deal is more important than anything else.
"We are getting body bags instead of a deal."