West Bank on strike after Israel bombing of hospital in Gaza, calls for civil disobedience

18 A general strike to condemn the “massacre” at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza brought life to a standstill in the occupied West Bank today.

According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, the strike follows the deadly bombing of the hospital in Gaza City by the Israeli army. More than 500 people were killed in the Israeli air strike on the hospital last night. Footage on social media showed bodies scattered across the hospital grounds.

The air strike came on the 11th day of Israel’s genocidal bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip, as non-governmental groups and world leaders highlight that Israel’s assault on the enclave – including healthcare facilities, homes and houses of worship – violates international law and may constitute war crimes.

The shutdown in the West Bank, called for by national and Islamic forces in the northern provinces, paralysed all aspects of life, with universities, banks, financial institutions and commercial stores closed.

Further, popular calls urged people to continue confrontations with the occupation in every region, street and square, according to WAFA.

“The Palestinian territories have declared a state of mourning, with flags lowered to half-mast on official institutions in the West Bank, in accordance with President Mahmoud Abbas’s three-day general mourning declaration and flag-lowering as a tribute to the martyrs victims of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital and all the Palestinian martyr victims,” WAFA reported.

READ: Hundreds dead in Gaza hospital bombing, local authorities say