Greece has again become mired in a 24-hour general strike by labor unions of both the public and private sectors.

Major transportation in big cities and some flights in Athens International Airport were cut off on Thursday due to the strike, while hospitals suspended operations except for emergency rooms.

Local media said that tens of thousands of people gathered at the Syntagma Square opposite the Greek Parliament on Thursday and that police mobilized some four-thousand armed officers to be on guard.

At the rally, some protesters threw Molotov cocktails at police and police fired back with teargas.

Less than a month ago, Greece saw a 24-hour strike that was held in protest of the Greek government’s announcement that it would inevitably have to slash the public sector’s wages, manpower and pensions as it is set to reduce its finances by eleven-and-a-half billion euros next year, or 25 percent of this year’s state finances.