Castigated after hostages killed, Netanyahu blames Hamas for failure to reach deal
Families Forum says deaths ‘direct result’ of PM ‘torpedoing’ agreement; Lapid slams ‘cabinet of death,’ urges general strike; far-right claims Gallant, opposition embolden Hamas
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Amid widespread anger over the slaying in captivity of six Israeli hostages whose bodies were recovered from Gaza over the weekend, Prime Minister Benjamin on Sunday blamed Hamas for the ongoing failure to reach a ceasefire deal that would have secured their release while they were still alive.
Calling it “a difficult day,” Netanyahu said in a video message released hours after the announcement that the bodies had been found that he, like the rest of the country, was “shocked to the depths of my soul by the terrible coldblooded murder of six of our hostages.”
“Together with the entire nation, my wife and I share the terrible grief of the families; we all mourn together with them,” he said.
The IDF announced early Sunday morning the deaths of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Alex Lobanov, 32, Carmel Gat, 40, and Almog Sarusi, 27, hours after saying it had found six bodies in an underground tunnel in southern Gaza.
All six were abducted alive on October 7, and IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari said Hamas murdered them shortly before the IDF found their bodies Saturday afternoon.
Hamas claimed the hostages had been “killed by Zionist bombing” and blamed the deaths on Israel for continuing the war in Gaza and on the United States for supporting the war.
“I say to the Hamas terrorists who murdered our abductees and I say to their leaders — your lives are now forfeit,” Netanyahu vowed.
“We will not rest and we will not be silent. We will pursue you, we will catch up with you and we will settle accounts with you,” he declared.
Netanyahu remained silent on the hostages’ deaths long after public comments had been made by President Isaac Herzog and other Israeli politicians — as well as US President Joe Biden and US vice president and presidential candidate Kamala Harris — drawing criticism from the opposition.
“Call the six hostage families now and listen to them. This is the least they deserve. Don’t wait even a minute,” former war cabinet minister Benny Gantz declared, arguing that “Netanyahu is timid, afraid and playing for time out of political calculations instead of taking action.”
A spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office did not respond when asked why Netanyahu took several hours to release a statement on the matter and why he chose to issue it in the form of a prerecorded video rather than speaking live to the public.
Insisting that “our efforts to free the hostages continue all the time,” Netanyahu asserted that since the last ceasefire-hostage deal last November, “Hamas refuses to conduct real negotiations.”
He said that Israel had agreed to an American-backed deal in May and an updated version in August but Hamas declined to accept it and even now, “while Israel is conducting intensive negotiations with the mediators in a supreme effort to reach a deal, Hamas continues to firmly refuse any offer.”
Netanyahu has come under heavy criticism domestically for allegedly blocking a deal with his insistence since July on continued Israeli control of the Philadelphi Corridor, which separates Gaza from Egypt, and central Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor, which divides the north of the Strip from its south.
According to Channel 12, Netanyahu last week indicated to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that he was prioritizing keeping Israeli troops in the Philadelphi Corridor over saving the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza.
Gallant and the security chiefs have repeatedly urged Netanyahu to compromise more in the negotiations, particularly regarding the Philadelphi Corridor, fearing that the premier’s hardline positions were scuttling a deal.
Saying that “my thoughts and my heart are with the families of the hostages who were killed,” Gallant on Sunday morning called on the security cabinet to overturn its Thursday vote supporting Netanyahu’s stance on the Philadelphi Corridor.
“It is too late for the hostages who were murdered in cold blood. The hostages who remain in Hamas captivity must be returned home,” he said. “The political-security cabinet must convene immediately and reverse the decision made on Thursday.”
Gallant has reportedly warned that failure to secure a deal could lead to a multifront war.
Hard-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich assailed Gallant for his call to reverse the Thursday vote, declaring that “the cabinet will not allow a surrender deal that would abandon Israel’s security” and calling for the creation of a buffer zone that would punitively reduce Gaza’s territory.
In an earlier message responding to the recovery of the six hostages’ bodies, Smotrich condemned what he termed “untruthful and irresponsible efforts” by politicians to “weaken Israeli society on behalf of Hamas.”
He and fellow far-right firebrand National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir have both previously threatened to topple the government if it agrees to end the fighting in Gaza as part of a deal with Hamas.
In a statement, Ben Gvir accused the government’s critics of “echoing Hamas propaganda” and blamed Gallant for a shooting Sunday morning in the southern West Bank in which three police officers were killed.
“Unfortunately, I see the disturbing statements from the left, which accuse the Israeli government of murdering the hostages,” Ben Gvir said. “To be clear: The terrorist organization Hamas, and only Hamas, killed the hostages. Those who place the blame on the Israeli government are echoing Hamas propaganda.”
“Those who demand the release of thousands of terrorists and giving Hamas control of the Philadelphi Corridor are intentionally forfeiting the security of Israel’s citizens. The blood of those murdered next shall be on his hands,” he said — adding that “when Defense Minister Gallant orders opening roadblocks for the Palestinians, the result is the murder of Jews.”
Ben Gvir further claimed that Israelis’ “right to life prevails over the freedom of movement of the residents of the Palestinian Authority” while Smotrich warned that another October 7 is possible unless Israel engages in a “preemptive strike” against terrorism in the West Bank.
Calls for a general strike
Meanwhile, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum blasted the government for failing to reach a hostages-for-ceasefire deal and called on the public “to join a massive demonstration, demanding a complete shutdown of the country.”
The forum, which represents the majority of the hostages’ families, accused Netanyahu of “hiding behind the IDF spokesman” by not announcing the deaths himself. After the IDF announcement, the forum said it would stage large demonstrations in Jerusalem in the late afternoon and in Tel Aviv in the evening, with smaller rallies taking place across the country.
It also called on the powerful Histadrut labor federation to stage a mass strike on Monday, a call taken up by the Israel Business Forum, which represents most private-sector workers from 200 of the country’s largest companies, and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid.
“They were alive. Netanyahu and the cabinet of death decided not to save them. There are still live hostages there, a deal can still be made. Netanyahu is not doing it for political reasons,” Lapid alleged in a statement, claiming that the prime minister was prioritizing preserving “the coalition with Smotrich and Ben Gvir over the lives of our children.”
“I call on every citizen whose heart is broken this morning to come at seven [in the evening] to Begin [Road in Tel Aviv] to demonstrate with us,” he said, demanding a special Knesset plenum session on Monday, during the Knesset recess, to discuss the issue of a ceasefire deal.
Responding to the political mudslinging between coalition and opposition, Aryeh Deri, the chairman of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, called on his “brothers and friends from all factions, coalition and opposition alike, to act at this time for the unity of the people, to show courage and leadership and not to multiply hatred, polarization, and division.”
Unlike the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the hawkish Tikva Forum representing several of the hostages’ families called on Netanyahu to cease negotiations for a deal with Hamas.
It is believed that 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 33 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Jacob Magid and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
