Israeli nurses declare strike

Nurses across the country went on strike at 7 a.m. Monday over staff shortages that they say have made it impossible to continue their work, after last-ditch talks with the treasury seeking to prevent the strike failed.

Union heads and the Finance Ministry's director-general, Keren Terner Eyal, did not come to any agreement during meetings on Sunday and overnight.

It was not immediately clear whether the strike would only last for one day or whether it was open-ended.

The Health Ministry said Sunday that there were 813 nurses in quarantine, with the Ynet news site reporting that there had been no additional staffing added even as hospitals open more coronavirus wards.

"We explained the situation to the director-general of the Finance Ministry. It should be understood that the shortage of nurses did not start with the coronavirus [pandemic]. The responsibility is the treasury's, and they had time to resolve this. We are on strike tomorrow," National Nurses Union head Ilana Cohen told the Kan public broadcaster Sunday.

Opposition Chief Yair Lapid tweeted Monday morning that the nurses, like the social workers, who are also striking, "have understood there is no government in Israel."

Lapid charged that the "detached" government was "occupied with itself" while "there is nobody to address the problems. Everyone standing on the front lines of Israeli society has been abandoned."