JERUSALEM/ANKARA

Families of Israeli captives and army soldiers called on Sunday for a nationwide strike on Aug. 17 to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to secure a prisoner swap deal with Palestinian factions.

Addressing a press conference in Tel Aviv, the families said the strike would “paralyze vital facilities and major companies across the country,” urging all sectors of society to join.

They condemned the Israeli government for “ignoring the suffering of captives and their relatives.”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid expressed support for the planned strike in a statement on X, calling the economic shutdown “justified and necessary,” and promising ongoing backing for families’ actions.

The announcement follows mounting criticism from opposition parties and families over Netanyahu’s plans to fully reoccupy the Gaza Strip, which the hostage families and the military fear would endanger the captives’ lives.

In a related development, dozens of Israeli protesters stormed the headquarters of right-wing Channel 13 television during a live broadcast of the reality show “Big Brother” late Saturday, chanting slogans demanding a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.

The protesters wore shirts reading “Get out of Gaza” and chanted slogans, including “The people demand a ceasefire” and “Israel starves Gaza.”

Security personnel and production staff intervened to remove the demonstrators.

“Only by stopping all normal life and forcing the government to reverse its plans can the war end, the captives return, and the starvation cease,” leftist Israeli group Standing Together, which organized the protest, said in a statement.

Israel has kept all Gaza crossings closed since March 2, blocking aid convoys despite hundreds of trucks waiting at the border. Only small amounts have been allowed in, far below the level needed to avert famine.

Israel has been facing mounting outrage over its deadly war on Gaza, where more than 61,400 people have been killed since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave and brought it to the verge of famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.