Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Tel Aviv came to a standstill on Monday, amid protests in the city and across Israel, together with a general strike involving hundreds of thousands of workers, aimed at pressuring the government to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas.
Rallies that started on Sunday continued into Monday evening, despite a court order to end the general strike – the first since the war began 11 months ago – early, following a petition by right-wing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. He claimed damage to the national economy from the strike “plays into the interests” of Hamas and its leader of Yahya Sinwar.”
The strike, declared by Israel's Histadrut trade union on Sunday, came in response to public fury over the death of six hostages, whose bodies were recovered from Gaza on Saturday.
Hamas said the hostages were killed in “Israeli bombings and other means” in a Monday interview with Al Jazeera, which they later put on their Telegram channel. Israel is “directly responsible” for their deaths, the group said, while Israel has claimed the hostages were shot dead shortly before they were discovered.
“We don’t want Gaza to become our murder,” Tel Aviv protesters chanted to the tune of drums. Others chanted while waving the Israeli flag.
“Get out of Gaza,” they shouted. Nearby, white-collar workers at an open shopping centre courtyard were having lunch, while the heavy traffic in the city was hampered by street cordons to create a zone for the rallies.
“They are right. We should leave Gaza,” one man in his sixties said.
Histadrut represents more than 800,000 workers in sectors including health, transport and banking. It joined opposition leader Yair Lapid and several Israeli municipalities in calling for strike action.
Protests continued despite the labour court in Tel Aviv ordering the strike to end at 2.30pm, more than three hours earlier than planned.
It was further cut after a petition was filed to the Bat Yam labour court, saying the strike was being held for political reasons. The move goes against Histadrut, Israel’s largest trade union, which hoped to strike until 6.30pm.
In Jerusalem, thousands crowded the streets ahead of the funeral of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, while others were set to protest outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's official residence in Jerusalem and his private home in the coastal city of Caesarea.
Speaking at Mr Goldberg-Polin's funeral on Monday afternoon, Israeli President Isaac Herzog “asked for forgiveness” from his family, and called on the international community to do everything to secure a ceasefire deal.
Dr Khalil Al Hayya, who now heads Hamas's negotiation team, said the group had recently sent proof of life to the family of Mr Goldberg-Polin.
“After a while … the Qassam Brigades announced that they had lost contact with him and those guarding him, in a clear indication that he was directly bombed by the Israeli occupation,” Mr Al Hayya said.
Hamas said on Monday it would soon release video footage of the six hostages found over the weekend.
His mother Rachel Goldberg, one of the most vocal hostage parents, said she hoped her son's death “will be a turning point in this horrible situation in which we all find ourselves entangled”.
“Maybe, just maybe your death is the stone, the fuel, that will bring home the remaining hostages,” added father Jon Polin.
Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport was briefly closed to take-offs at 8am, while arrivals operated as usual. Israel's Airport Authority, Israel Ports Company, Haifa Port, Ashdod Port, Eilat Port, Hadera Port, Israel Electric Company and Israel's Postal Service were also on strike, according to local media reports.
Mr Netanyahu has come under increasing pressure to reach a deal with Hamas for the release of the remaining hostages. Relatives and protesters claim the government has not done enough to bring them back alive.
On Sunday, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai said his municipality would go on strike from Monday morning until noon, with no public meetings held and workers encouraged to join rallies in an effort to persuade Mr Netanyahu to take action.
During Sunday night's protests in Tel Aviv, marchers passed six symbolic coffins and carried pictures of the hostages killed. Several demonstrators clashed with police while some set fire to tyres and blocked roads.
The bodies of Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino have been returned to Israel.
They were killed before the Israeli military could reach them, military spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari said.
Hamas has offered to release the hostages in return for an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants.
Additional reporting by Holly Johnston in Abu Dhabi
SPECS
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Persuasion
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Naga
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The 12
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
MATCH INFO:
Second Test
Pakistan v Australia, Tuesday-Saturday, 10am daily at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Entrance is free
How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
