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[text/observer network chen sijia]

the israeli defense forces said in a statement on the morning of the 1st that the bodies of six israeli detainees were found in an underground tunnel in the southern gaza city of rafah. it was initially estimated that they had died a few days ago. israeli prime minister netanyahu then issued a statement saying that the israeli government and he were committed to reaching a ceasefire agreement and accused hamas of being "unwilling to negotiate."

the news sparked strong dissatisfaction across israel, with large-scale demonstrations breaking out across the country. protesters demanded netanyahu reach an immediate ceasefire agreement and have hamas release israeli detainees as soon as possible. protesters in jerusalem surrounded the prime minister's residence, while protesters in tel aviv blocked the ayalon highway in the city, and some protesters set fire to the road.

one of the organizers of the demonstration, the israeli "hostage and missing persons families forum", told cnn that a total of about 700,000 people participated in the march across israel, including 550,000 protesters in tel aviv. this is the largest demonstration in israel since the new round of israeli-palestinian conflict broke out on october 7 last year.

several families of the detained said in a joint statement: "we call on netanyahu and hamas to reach an agreement to bring the hostages home and reunite them with their families. it is time for all the hostages to go home... for the remaining 101 hostages and their families, this nightmare must end."

according to reports, tel aviv police have used water cannons and other equipment to disperse protesters who blocked the highway. israeli police announced that they arrested 29 protesters in tel aviv and charged them with vandalism, disorderly conduct and assaulting police officers. police also said that they had expelled protesters from the main roads and the roads were gradually opening to vehicles.

in addition, arnon bar-david, chairman of the israeli federation of labor, announced on the 1st that the union will launch a nationwide strike from 6:00 local time on the 2nd (11:00 beijing time on the 2nd). he said at a press conference: "we are in a vicious cycle and continue to receive body bags. political considerations have hindered the progress of the hostage agreement. only strikes can have an impact."

municipal departments in cities such as tel aviv have announced their participation in the strike. israeli universities such as the hebrew university also plan to strike on the 2nd local time, urging the israeli government to reach a ceasefire and exchange of detained persons as soon as possible.

israeli finance minister smotrich has applied to israel's attorney general for an injunction to stop the nationwide strike. he argued that the strike would set a "dangerous precedent," "improperly" influence policy decisions related to israel's national security, and damage israel's wartime economy. the israeli attorney general's office has not yet commented on the request.

according to reuters, ceasefire negotiations in gaza promoted by the united states, qatar and egypt have been going on for months, but hamas and israel have not yet reached an agreement. the israeli government insists on retaining troops in the "philadelphia corridor" at the border between the gaza strip and egypt and the "netzarim corridor" in central gaza, while hamas demands that israel withdraw its troops.

hamas chief negotiator khalil haya reiterated to al jazeera on the 1st that the organization will not sign a ceasefire agreement unless israel completely withdraws from the gaza strip.

the tough negotiation conditions proposed by the netanyahu government have aroused the dissatisfaction of some critics and politicians in israel, who accused netanyahu of obstructing ceasefire negotiations. cnn revealed that israeli defense minister galant also severely criticized the netanyahu government and was the only person in the israeli cabinet who opposed including "control of the philadelphia corridor" in the negotiation conditions.

according to reports, galant criticized the netanyahu government at a cabinet meeting on the 1st for giving priority to controlling key border areas without reaching an agreement to release the detained people. he warned: "if we continue like this, we will not be able to achieve the goals we set for ourselves. if we want the hostages to survive, we have no time."

however, one of the mediators, us president biden, remains "optimistic" about the ceasefire negotiations. on august 31, local time, biden said that the ceasefire negotiations in gaza were "close to being reached" and that the negotiating parties "agreed in principle" to the content of the possible agreement. a biden administration official told the washington post on the 1st that it was unclear whether the discovery of the remains of the six israeli personnel would affect the negotiation process.

on october 7 last year, hamas launched the "al-aqsa flood" operation to raid israel, detaining about 250 israeli personnel. israel then launched a large-scale military operation against the gaza strip. according to data released by the health department of the gaza strip, since the outbreak of this round of palestinian-israeli conflict, the israeli army's attacks have killed more than 40,000 palestinians and injured 93,000. the israeli government released data saying that about 1,200 israelis were killed.

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