Hostage families blast PM for again asserting that he’s not willing to end war in exchange for remaining captives

A group of hostage families are fuming over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s latest assertion that Israel is only looking to reach a partial hostage deal.

“I’m not going to agree to end the war before we remove Hamas,” he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published yesterday. “We’re not going to leave them in power in Gaza, 30 miles from Tel Aviv. It’s not going to happen.”

His opponents have warned that this would leave the majority of the 100 remaining hostages in Gaza indefinitely.

Hamas has also long asserted that it won’t agree to release hostages unless it has guarantees that the first phase of the ceasefire being negotiated will subsequently transition to the second and third stages during which a permanent cessation of hostilities will be agreed upon.

Responding to the interview, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker says Netanyahu’s pledge not to end the war before Hamas is removed amounts to “another attempt to torpedo the release of the hostages.”

“The same prime minister who deliberately did not act to replace the Hamas government is now using this as an excuse to prolong the war and abandon the hostages. He wants to bury them in tunnels,” says Einav Zangauker.

Moreover, she argues that “ending the war in order to return all of the hostages is neither an obstacle nor a price – it is the goal. The people want to return the hostages, end the war and return to normality. The hostages may not survive another month, we need a comprehensive deal now.”

Hostage Ofer Calderon’s cousin Yifat blasts the “contradictory messages coming from Israel’s political echelon.”

Days before Netanyahu’s remarks to the Journal, Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed a deal to free all of the remaining hostages was imminent. A senior member of Israel’s hostage negotiating team is reported to have subsequently blasted Katz for making irresponsible comments that hampered efforts to reach a deal.

In his own response to Netanyahu, hostage Itzik Elgarat’s brother Danny urges the premier to, “Look the families in the eye – you humiliated us, trampled on us, turned us into the enemy. The only thing left for you to do is fulfill the will of the people: end the war and bring everyone back.”

Separately, the IDF issues a statement apologizing to the family of hostage Nimrod Cohen for inviting them to an event for bereaved families, given that their son is still believed to be alive in Gaza.