Families of soldiers held in Gaza praise Liberman for his ‘determined stand’

The family of an IDF soldier whose remains are being held in Gaza by the Hamas terror group praises outgoing Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman’s comments explaining his decision to resign.

In his remarks, the defense minister specifically cited the importance of bringing back the remains of Lt. Hadar Goldin and Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul and the living Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are being held in Gaza.

“We thank Minister Liberman for his strong and determined stand with us during his tenure and especially recently,” Goldin’s family says in a statement.

“There can be no agreement [with Hamas] without the return of the [fallen] soldiers and the civilians. The responsible for this lies solely on the shoulders of Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu,” the family adds.

— Judah Ari Gross