JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL

High school students staged a one-day strike on the first day of school in Israel on Monday, protesting the government’s neglect to reach a hostage deal with Palestinians in Gaza.

According to the Haaretz newspaper, students from nearly 70 high schools across Israel participated in the strike.

“We decided not to return to school while they are being debauched in Gaza,” a student, who did not give his name, told Haaretz.

Gates of 17 schools were locked by the students, the daily said.

Hundreds of students also blocked several roads across the country, holding signs reading: "No education without the hostages."

During a Security Cabinet meeting on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected requests by ministers to vote for a partial deal for the hostage release, saying that “it's not on the agenda,” according to the daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

Families of the Israeli hostages in Gaza accuse Netanyahu of deliberately obstructing efforts to reach a deal to release their beloved ones for his political survival.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu, who initially advanced the strategy of phased releases rather than a comprehensive deal, is now opposing the very agreement he supported,” the families said in a statement on the US social media company X.

On Aug. 18, the Palestinian resistance group Hamas accepted a ceasefire proposal put forward by Egyptian and Qatari mediators. While Israel has not responded to the proposal, Netanyahu gave orders to proceed with a plan to occupy Gaza City.

Israel estimates nearly 50 hostages remain in Gaza, including 20 alive, while rights groups report more than 10,800 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons under torture, starvation, and medical neglect.

Israel has killed nearly 63,500 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing 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.