Father of captive soldier: ‘After the deal blew up, Netanyahu is now blowing up the hostages’

Some relatives of Israelis held hostage in Gaza gather outside the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv for their weekly statement to the press, slamming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for not prioritizing the captives’ return over the destruction of Hamas.

“After the [hostage release and ceasefire] deal blew up, Netanyahu is now blowing up the hostages in Gaza,” says Yehuda Cohen, the father of hostage soldier Nimrod Cohen. “Netanyahu is killing the hostages and destroying the country.”

“Come out to the streets, this is an emergency,” Cohen adds in an appeal for Israelis to join the demonstrators.

Yifat Calderon, the cousin of freed hostage Ofer Calderon, urges US President Donald Trump to “not fall for Netanyahu’s tricks,” accusing the prime minister of “waging an influence campaign of deception against the American administration.”