Current sectionScience & HealthDeclaring a labor shortage will allow some 60,000 nursing professionals spread across hospitals, clinics and institutions to strike in 15 days if no agreement is reached with the governmentShare to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeNurses at Sheba Medical Center. Credit: Hadas ParushNurses at Sheba Medical Center. Credit: Hadas Parush06:15 PM • July 09 2026 IDTThe Israeli Nurses Union declared on Thursday a labor dispute due to extreme workloads and a severe shortage of workers, paving the way for a nationwide nursing strike later this month."For over a year, we have been warning the Health and Finance Ministries about the unbearable workload placed on the shoulders of nurses, and our warnings have been completely ignored," Shaul Skif, who chairs the union, explained."We expected that, after three years of the COVID-19 pandemic and three years of war, during which nurses have been on the front lines giving 200 percent, the state would know how to provide them with the necessary resources to care for Israel's citizens – but apparently we were mistaken," Skif's said in a statement.Roughly 60,000 nursing professionals employed by hospitals, HMO clinics, institutes and well-baby clinics are represented by the Israeli Nurses Union. The official declaration of a labor dispute allows the union and the government to continue holding negotiations over the next 15 days, after which the option of striking becomes legally available.The union said the labor dispute was necessary due to a constant increase in workload; rapidly declining working conditions, which endanger the quality of care; physical, mental and professional burnout; and a low nurse-to-patient ratio lacking an adequate allocation of resources.Additional reasons cited by the union include the refusal to meet nurses' demands in negotiations, as well as the government and companies' unwillingness to improve working conditions by improving the infrastructure and adding more hospital beds and additional nursing professionals. The union also pointed to restrictions and cutbacks that prevent the recruitment of new employees."We will not allow the nursing system to collapse and reach a point where we endanger human lives due to the irresponsibility of the Health and Finance Ministries," Skif said. Israeli Nurses Union Chairman Shaul SkifIsraeli Nurses Union Chairman Shaul SkifThe union also made clear that it is demanding that the Health Ministry stands by a signed agreement that the state will take back responsibility for the healthcare of school-aged children, thus reversing the privatization process planned by the ministry."We will not allow the Health Ministry to abandon the health of Israeli students. Any unilateral move that doesn't allow nurses to provide students with the best preventive medicine will be blocked," Skif warned.In the labor dispute announced on Thursday, the union highlighted some of the worrying results of the shortage of nurses. At Sheba Medical Center, for example, technical staff have been brought in to operating rooms to fill the place of nurses."The risk to the patients in Sheba's operating rooms must cease immediately," Skif said. "If this does not happen, we will stop it through organizational means," he warned.In the NewsCan Trump Save Netanyahu Politically? That's the Wrong QuestionArgentina's Soccer Team Crest Was Designed by a Jewish Superfan 50 Years AgoZini Says Shin Bet Will Safeguard Elections Amid CriticismIran Says U.S. Strikes Targeted Bushehr Nuclear Plant, Warns of RetaliationWhat Is the Purpose of a Jewish Museum in Europe After October 7?Remembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIIsrael Has Long Ignored Warnings of a 'Diplomatic Tsunami.' Now It Has ArrivedDumber Than a 10-year-old: Are Israeli Students Really That Stupid?The 'Special Relationship' Is Gone, and Israel Isn't Ready for What's ComingAn Israeli Principal Desegregated a Tel Aviv School. Here's What HappenedAs Israel Lacks Hundreds of Patrol Officers, West Bank Staff DoublesIsraeli Cop Filmed Throwing Stun Grenade Into Car, Trapping Palestinians Inside