Families accuse PM of gambling with hostages’ lives to preserve government

A group of hostage families give their weekly press conference in Tel Aviv, urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a deal to free their loved ones held in Gaza at an upcoming round of negotiations on Thursday in Cairo.

“In what world does a prime minister keep civilians and soldiers who he abandoned to rot in captivity for 10 months?” Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held in Gaza, asks.

“In what world does Netanyahu make criminal political calculations for ‘timing’ and how [Bezalel] Smotrich and [Itamar] Ben Gvir will react, at the expense of lives?” she says, accusing the premier of gambling with the lives of hostages to ensure his government survives.

“If Netanyahu continues to drag his feet, if he doesn’t close a deal now that includes the release of everyone, we will receive only bodies in return, if any. Netanyahu wants to extend the war to extend the life of his government. He is ready to drag us to an escalation instead of reaching a deal that saves lives and prevents an escalation,” she says, urging Israeli negotiators to demand the prime minister agree to a deal.

Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod is held hostage, says the current opportunity to reach a deal may be the last.

“According to media reports, Israel agreed to come to a summit this Thursday. We have experience from summits and conferences that all ended the same. The mediators came up with solutions, but Netanyahu repeatedly botched the deal.”