Goldin family: It would be irresponsible to miss this opportunity for a swap

“There is [currently] an opportunity to return from the hands of Hamas our son Hadar and Sgt. Oron Saul along with the civilians of [Avera] Mengistu and [Hisham] al-Sayed,” the Goldin family says in response to reports of ministers meeting to discuss a possible exchange.

“Missing [this] opportunity now would be a national irresponsibility,” the Goldins say.

The family also relays that Israel’s top hostage negotiator Yaron Blum updated them on the talks with Hamas last week.

Their statement comes after Channel 13 reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened the ministerial committee responsible for returning Israeli captives to discuss efforts to reach a prisoner exchange with the Hamas terror group last week.

This was the first meeting of the ministerial committee since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Hamas in recent weeks has expressed interest in reaching a deal that would see it return Israeli captives Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed along with the bodies of soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul.

However, the group has said that in order for such a deal to take place, Israel must first release all teenage, female and elderly prisoners in addition to those who were rearrested after the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange.

Israel reportedly hopes that it would be able to receive information on the captives in exchange for letting additional medical supplies into the Gaza Strip.