ISRAEL – The families of Israeli hostages and soldiers on Sunday called for a nationwide strike on August 17 to pressure Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to secure a prisoner swap deal with Hamas.

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.