Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the absence of a Gaza and hostage deal as the nation reeled from the return of the bodies of six hostages recently killed in captivity in Gaza.
“Israel is conducting intensive negotiations with the mediators in a massive effort to reach a deal. Hamas continues to firmly refuse any offer,” Netanyahu said.
“Worse than that, at that very moment,” while talks were being held, Hamas “murdered six of our hostages,” Netanyahu stated.
‘Those who murder hostages – do not want a deal’
“Those who murder hostages – do not want a deal,” Netanyahu stated.
“We, for our part, did not let up. The Israeli government is committed, and I am personally committed, to continue pursuing a deal that will return all of our hostages and guarantee our security and existence,” he said.
He recalled the first hostage deal in November that was broken by Hamas, in which 105 captives were released, stressing that since December, “Hamas refuses to conduct real negotiations.”
Netanyahu explained that three months ago, on May 27, Israel had agreed to a three-phase hostage deal that was unveiled on May 31.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this morning:”This is a difficult day for us.Together with all citizens of Israel, I was outraged to the depths of my soul by the horrific, cold-blooded murder of six of our hostages: pic.twitter.com/Fs8qqlhJUm
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) September 1, 2024
“Even after the United States updated the outline of the deal on August 16 – we agreed, and Hamas again refused,” Netanyahu stressed.
He spoke in the aftermath of an intense US push to finalize the May 31 deal under whose terms 18-33 of the hostages would have been freed during a six-week period in exchange for a lull in the Gaza war and the Israeli release of Palestinian security prisoners and terrorists.
Four of the hostages—Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, and Almog Sarusi—would likely have been freed in the first phase. The other two hostages, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Ori Danino, would likely have been released in phase two.
The US, along with the main mediators for the deal, Qatar and Egypt, have been unable to close the gaps between the sides, including Israel’s insistence that the IDF must remain in a critical buffer zone between Gaza and Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor.
The security cabinet voted 8-1 on Thursday night to back this position, against the advice of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who warned that it could kill the deal and that it endangered the lives of hostages.
“The cabinet must gather immediately and reverse the decision made on Thursday,” Gallant said.
“It is too late for the hostages who were murdered in cold blood. We must bring back the hostages that are still being held by Hamas,” he said.
“The State of Israel will pursue all Hamas leaders and murderers,” Gallant said.
Sources indicated that the ministers in the security cabinet on Thursday felt, at the time, that all those hostages who had been killed or died in captivity had perished in the first half year of the war.
The six deceased hostages the IDF found in a tunnel under Rafah on Saturday are believed to have been killed by Palestinians in the last days.
In past weeks, Netanyahu has told the families of the captives that he was not willing to make a deal at any price.
Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) bitterly posted on X Sunday, “Netanyahu and the ‘death cabinet’ decided not to rescue the hostages. Their blood on their heads.”
Stressing that the “national can not go on like this,” he called for the country’s major union, the Histadrut, to call for a general strike that would shut the country down” starting with a 7 p.m. protest by the Begin highway on Sunday night.
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