A deal that was to return hostages after the discovery of the bodies of six hostages in the Gaza Strip.
The major strike led by Israel’s trade union umbrella organisation Histadrut began in protest against the government’s failure to end the conflict.
In many cities, kindergartens, banks and government offices remained closed.
Public transport was also affected, and there were disruptions and delays to air traffic at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv.
Many cities and communities joined the protest, while others refused to, as they were more closely aligned with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing religious government.
The government supporters slammed the protest movement, saying it played into the hands of Hamas and encouraged it to maintain a tough negotiating position.
Later, a labour court ordered an early end to the strike on the grounds that it was politically motivated.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said on Sunday that troops had recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in Gaza.
The four men and two women were kidnapped during the Hamas-led terrorist attack on October 7, the IDF said.
The Israeli Health Ministry said the hostages were shot at close range some 48 to 72 hours before the autopsy of the bodies.
But a Hamas spokesman said the hostages had been killed by an Israeli bombardment.
A spokesperson for the German Foreign Office called the murder of six other Hamas hostages almost unbearable after it emerged that one of them was a person with a German family.
When asked, the ministry said the person concerned was not a German citizen, but their family had a connection to Germany.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz vowed a harsh response following the hostage deaths.
“The terrorist organisation Hamas has brutally executed six hostages in order to sow fear and attempt to divide Israeli society.
“Israel will respond with full force to this shameful crime. Hamas is responsible and will pay the full price,’’ Mr Katz said in a post on X.
According to reports, airport operations disrupted air traffic at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, which was disrupted and delayed. However, the airport authority had said operations would go according to plan.
