Nationwide strikes erupt in Israel as hostage deaths kindle pressure for cease-fire deal

• Protests spilled into Israel's streets, as the Jewish state braced for a nationwide strike.
• Union Histadrut called for a general strike across Israel's economy on Monday, the organization said on social media.
• The call to strike action comes after the Israel Defense Forces on Sunday reported recovering the bodies of six hostages abducted by Hamas.

Protests have spilled into Israel's streets, as the Jewish state braces for a nationwide strike amid mounting pressure on the administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to broker a cease-fire deal with Hamas and return hostages from the Gaza Strip.

Arnon Bar-David — the head of Israel's biggest union Histadrut that represents hundreds of thousands of workers in areas including health care and banking — called for a general strike across Israel's economy on Monday, the organization said on social media, amid a swelling wave of national frustration over the perceived failure of Netanyahu's government to clinch a deal and bring captive loved ones back home.

"It is impossible to stand in front of the cries of our children who are being murdered in the tunnels in Gaza, this is unacceptable," Bar-David said, according to a Google translation.

Peter Lerner, director general of the international relations division at Histadrut, told CNBC's Dan Murphy that the industrial action began as of 6 a.m. local time in Israel on Monday affecting the private and public sector in regions spanning from Beersheba in the south up to Haifa in the north, and also impacting the port of Haifa and Israel's main international airport, Ben Gurion.

"Clearly, the impact of the war on the economy of Israel is devastating. We are worried for the jobs of the workers and obviously where the government is