Hostage families: Government going against will of the people by ‘choosing territories over hostages’

The families of hostages say that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is disregarding the people by “choosing territories over hostages.”

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum says it is releasing the statement in response to the announcement by an “Israeli official” earlier this morning that the cabinet plan for operations that was approved last night includes the “conquering of Gaza and holding territories.”

The forum represents the majority of relatives of those held captive in Gaza.

“The plan approved by the cabinet deserves the name ‘Smotrich-Netanyahu Plan’ for giving up on the hostage and its abandonment of national and security resilience,” the forum says in a statement, referring to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Throughout the fighting, Smotrich and others on the far-right have urged using the war as an opportunity to reestablish Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip.

“The government admitted this morning that it is choosing territory over hostages, and this is against the will of over 70% of the people,” the forum says.

Polls have consistently shown that a large majority of the Israeli public favors a deal that would see all the hostages held in Gaza released, even if it means ending the war.

Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 59 hostages, including 58 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF.