The Histadrut trade union called a nationwide strike beginning at 6:00 am (0300 GMT), a day after mass demonstrations following the army's announcement that troops had recovered the bodies of six hostages "murdered" in a Gaza tunnel.
"We're stopping everything to make sure our voice is heard, to say that we don't want to do anything until they are here", said protester Michal Hadas-Nahor of the dozens of hostages still held by militants in the besieged Gaza Strip.
"I really hope this makes a difference, otherwise I don't know how I can live in this country and raise my children here", Hadas-Nahor, a 34-year-old human resources manager, told AFP at a protest march in the commercial hub of Tel Aviv on Monday.
Barak Hadurian, a 56-year-old software engineer from Tel Aviv, said "we want elections", but "first and foremost" the government "to sign an agreement to release the hostages and cease this war that is terrible for both sides".
Gil Dickmann, a cousin of Carmel Gat, one of the six hostages whose deaths were announced Sunday, said: "I really hope this is a turning point."
Up until Sunday, Dickmann said, labour leaders and others were not yet ready to take major action like a nationwide strike.
"I guess we had to lose our most precious things for it to become time for this general strike", Dickmann told journalists.
"It's horrible that we had to pay the price, that Carmel is not here with us to see that."
'Political strike'
Like Tel Aviv, the northern coastal city of Haifa also heeded the strike calls and announced municipal services would be closed Monday.
Haifa's port slowed down or ceased some of its activities, Histadrut spokesman Peter Lerner said on social media platform X.
The Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv saw some flights delayed, and none at all for two hours leading up to 10:00 am.
But not all municipalities joined the strike, like Jerusalem where light rail services were still cancelled in the morning.
Private-run public transportation services were at least partly functional at midday.
The public sector was also affected, with some services paused.
"There is no reception for the public today but we are working in the offices", said a worker at the national social insurance agency.
The employee, who opposes the strike and spoke on condition of anonymity, called it "a scandal" at a time the country remains at war, more than 11 months into the Hamas attack that triggered it.
"The Histadrut is behaving like a political body, not like a workers' union."
Israeli media said that upon request by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich -- a far-right leader who opposes a truce in the war -- prosecutors asked a labour court to rule against the "political strike". A hearing is due later on Monday.
