Hostage soldiers’ families scold Katz: ‘You returned to fighting to get Ben Gvir back’
Yehuda Cohen accuses defense minister of surrendering to far-right coalition partners, Katz retorts: ‘But why do you care?’; Anat Angrest: Potential deals are leaving soldiers behind
The families of hostage soldiers upbraided Defense Minister Israel Katz during a recent fraught meeting, stressing that renewed fighting in Gaza places their loved ones in mortal danger, and accusing the government of putting coalition interests first.
In a taped recording from last Thursday’s meeting that aired on Channel 12 news on Sunday, Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod is held hostage, insisted that the decision to restart fighting in Gaza was motivated by the coalition interests of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
“You’ve surrendered to your coalition partners. It is a fact that when you went to the first phase [of the hostage deal], Otzma Yehudit left the government,” he charged, referring to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s far-right party. “You kept their [ministerial] portfolios [for them]…”
Katz cut him off and insisted that coalition interests were irrelevant to the decision to return to war.
“What business of yours is it that we kept open their portfolios? What are you, a politician?” he shot back at Cohen, referring to the fact that Otzma Yehudit retook the same portfolios when it returned to the government last month when fighting resumed in the Strip. “There is an appropriate decision here and that’s what’s important, whether they [Otzma Yehudit] left [the government] or not, that doesn’t interest us.”
“You returned to fighting in order to get Ben Gvir back!” Yehuda charged, to which Katz quickly responded: “But why do you care?”
Also present at the meeting were the families of captive soldiers Edan Alexander and Matan Angrest.
“My Edan came from the United States, he put his life on hold to enlist and contribute to the country,” lamented Iris Schwartz, the aunt of Alexander, a dual US-Israeli citizen who enlisted in the IDF’s Golani Brigade after completing high school in New Jersey.
“We need someone who will bang his fists on the table for us, like you know how to do things when it comes to the coalition you are in,” she said.
“The soldiers are being left behind in these deals,” said Anat Angrest, the mother of Matan. “My Matan is there, injured, why? Because Hamas refused to discuss him because he is a soldier. What does that mean? That the State of Israel continued the deal and abandoned wounded Matan, there because he is a soldier.”
Many hostage families have repeatedly voiced their fear that renewed fighting in Gaza will lead to the deaths of more of those held, particularly after the IDF discovered the bodies of six murdered hostages in a tunnel last year.
Forensic examination revealed that the hostages had been shot at close range, presumably after Hamas terrorists detected the IDF operating nearby.
Yehuda Cohen also asked Katz why the government did not consider negotiating an agreement to end the war in exchange for all the hostages, and simply return to fighting if Hamas breaks the ceasefire.
“Now let’s just wait,” Katz said, provoking indignation from the families.
“A year and a half! A year and a half my brother is being held in a dog’s cage,” said Yotam Cohen, Nimrod’s brother. “What are you talking about, ‘let’s just wait?’ Are you serious?”
“I am satisfied with what we are doing. Believe me, there is no country in the world that is doing what we do,” by prioritizing “hostages first, and decisions after,” Katz claimed.
Schwartz replied: “I don’t think there is another country in the world that had so many hostages [taken captive] in one day.”
Katz defended the decision to continue fighting in Gaza, claiming that Hamas planned — even during the ceasefire — to reinvade Israel and carry out another October 7-style massacre.
“From [Hamas’s] perspective, for us to stop today would be a great victory,” Katz said.
“So let them have their victory,” said Schwartz, who also disclosed that someone “high up in government” told her that the “rule of the right wing comes above all.”
“I don’t know who told you that, but it’s a shame you think this way,” Katz replied to Schwartz.
The Times of Israel Community.