Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, a member of the high-level security cabinet, laments that a ceasefire deal with Gaza rulers Hamas to stop the violence against Israel does not include the return of two Israeli captives and the remains of two IDF soldiers killed in 2014.
“I am very sorry that we reached an agreement with Hamas without bringing back the captives and missing to Israel,” tweets Deri. “This was an excellent opportunity and it’s a great pity that it was squandered. A humane response to Hamas and our heeding of its demands has not proven itself until now.”
The Hamas terror group said it accepted a ceasefire agreement with Israel on Monday night, ending nearly a month of low-level violence along the Gaza border. Israel did not explicitly confirm the existence of a deal, but in a tacit acknowledgment said it would fully reopen the fishing zone off the coast of the Strip and the enclave’s border crossings beginning Tuesday.
Hamas is holding Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, two Israelis who entered Gaza, and the bodies of soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, both killed in the 2014 war in the Strip.
Clockwise from top left: Avera Mengistu, Hisham al-Sayed, Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul. (Flash 90/Times of Israel)
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