Aunt of former hostage says PM blocking deals in order to keep war going and remain in office

The aunt of a former Hamas hostage in Gaza says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected several proposals that would have seen the release of hostages from Hamas in Gaza and is trying to keep the war going, at the expense of the hostages, in order to remain in office.

“This holdup is really not with the US or the Qataris. This holdup is with the Netanyahu government,” Liz Naftali says during a press conference US Senate leaders are holding with the families of the hostages on Capitol Hill.

Naftali, whose 4-year-old niece Avigail Idan was released during a seven-day truce at the end of November, says she and other relatives of hostages have been briefed on several deals that would have seen a staggered release of the remaining abductees, which have not been reached because of Netanyahu.

“When [Netanyahu] tells the public that he wants to… bring home all of the hostages, the lack of action… clearly demonstrates to us that he wants to keep this war going to remain in office,” says Naftali, who is also a Democratic Party donor.

Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on the accusation.

“President Biden has been very clear that he and the US government are friends of Israel and the Israeli people, but sometimes friends have to deliver hard messages,” Naftali says.

“We need to make sure that Israel is put under pressure to make a deal to stop this war and bring home these hostages… if bringing home these hostages is the priority, then we need to stop this war,” she adds.

A reporter goes on to ask the Senate leaders and other relatives of the hostages at the press conference whether they share Naftali’s assessment regarding Netanyahu.

Ruby Chen, whose 19-year-old son Itay is being held captive in Gaza, responds that all of the hostages’ families view Netanyahu as responsible because their loved ones were taken on his watch. He goes on to urge the prime minister to allow the cabinet to hold a conversation regarding the “day after” in Gaza, saying that such planning “is an integral component… of reaching a conclusion… for the families.”

Senator Ben Cardin. the Democratic chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, avoids criticizing Netanyahu directly, suggesting that his focus is maintaining contacts with Israeli leaders in order to help free the hostages.

But he and several other lawmakers at the press conference have less of an issue publicly pressuring Qatar, saying Doha should use the fact that it hosts Hamas’s leaders to lean harder on them to release the hostages.

Also addressing the press conference is Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer who says he spoke with the families about “a new strategy we can implement [to secure the hostages’ release] and I promise to try and do that.”

He does not elaborate on what that strategy is but says there has been some progress and that he remains hopeful.