#StrikeForGaza: Arab world stays at home to demand ceasefire

A general one-day strike is being observed around the world on Monday in order to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians - most of them women and children -have been killed in two months of brutal Israeli bombardment.

Footage showed usually busy streets in cities in the West Bank, Lebanon, and Jordan empty of vehicles and people, as people around the Arab world stayed at home in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Schools and banks were among the institutions which closed to protest the "66-day genocide in Gaza", with unusual scenes of roads in Amman and elsewhere completely empty.

In Jordan, thousands of protestors took to the streets on Monday in Amman and other major cities, calling for an immediate ceasefire.

A general strike is declared in Amman, Jordan in solidarity with the Gaza Strip.#GazaGenocide pic.twitter.com/xysyIxb6Kh

— Palestine Info Center (@palinfoen) December 11, 2023

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in Jordan announced that it would take part in the strike, urging employees and students to stay at home.

The agency revealed on Sunday that 133 staff members have been killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza so far, many of them alongside their families

Palestinian activists and supporters called for a global strike on 11 December, after the US and its allies prevented attempts to impose a ceasefire in Gaza despite widespread killing of civilians.

Activists worldwide have supported the initiative via the hashtag #StrikeForGaza, which has gone viral on social media.

A general strike in the West Bank has put "all aspects of life" on hold, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, with shops and businesses closed in solidarity.

Several Lebanese ministers and heads of banks have issued statements expressing their support for the strike.

The Lebanese Council of Ministers said the 11 December strike stands "in solidarity with the Palestinian people, the inhabitants of Gaza, and the Lebanese villages along the Israeli border".

The ministers of education and culture, as well as the heads of major banks, have backed the call, while workers in Tripoli and other Lebanese cities downed tools in support of the people of Gaza.

Thousands of protesters rally in Amman, Jordan, in protest of the genocide being carried out by Israel right now against the Palestinian people in #Gaza.
17.11.23#GazaGenocide#IsraeliButchers#GazaGenocide#CEASEFIRE_NOW#Strike_for_Gaza#BoycottZara #الاضراب_الشامل pic.twitter.com/Rlq1yqUrS7

— Sara Biltaji ✨🕊️ (@sara_biltaji) December 11, 2023

Since 7 October, Israel's ferocious and indiscriminate air and ground offensives in the enclave have killed at least 18,205 Palestinians and injured 49,645 according to the Gaza health ministry.