National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir addressed the "People's Strike" protests for the return of hostages and ending the war, stating: "Today's strike, produced by Kaplan, is a continuation of the strikes and encouragement of refusal to serve before October 7. These are the same people who weakened Israel then and are trying to do so again today. This strike strengthens Hamas and pushes away the return of the hostages. Of course, they will later blame the Israeli government. This is what a cynical political spin on the backs of hostages looks like."