Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is worried about the mass protests taking place in the country, an Israeli official told CNN.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, demanding an agreement with Hamas to release the hostages, after the bodies of six of them were found in the Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported.
In general, about 700,000 people participated in the demonstrations in Israel. The protesters said they would return on Monday to disrupt the government's work.
The national trade union center Histadrut, which represents most of Israel's trade unions, called for a mass strike across the country on Monday.
Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has appealed to the country's attorney general to seek immediate injunctions to prevent a nationwide strike planned for Monday. In a letter to the Attorney General, the minister argued that a wartime strike would damage the economy and set a dangerous precedent. The Prosecutor General's Office has not yet commented on the request.
The Times of Israel noted that the current protests could be the largest since fighting in Gaza began on October 7, 2023.
