Flights resume at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport after 2-hour hiatus amid nationwide strike

By Mohammad Sio

ISTANBUL (AA) - Flights resumed at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on Monday after a two-hour suspension amid a nationwide strike to pressure the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach an immediate cease-fire and prisoner exchange deal with Palestinians.

The strike was called by Israel’s largest labor union Histadrut following the recovery of the bodies of six Israeli hostages from southern Gaza on Sunday.

During the strike, all landings and departures were halted at the airport for two hours.

The Israeli government has petitioned the country’s Supreme Court to suspend the strike.

Israel estimates that more than 100 hostages are still being held by the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza, some of whom are believed to have been already killed.

For months, the US, Qatar, and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and a cease-fire and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands to stop the war.

Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip has killed more than 40,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured over 94,100 others, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of the enclave has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.