From the Liveblog of
Saturday, February 15, 2025
Ministers welcome 3 hostages but back resuming war to destroy Hamas
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Welcoming hostages Sagui Dekel-Chen, Sasha Troufanov and Iair Horn home, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says, “We love you and are proud of you,” promising to continue the war in Gaza “until victory.”
“We are continuing forward until victory and the full realization of the goals of the war — the destruction of Hamas and the return of all the hostages,” tweets the far-right Smotrich, who has threatened to leave the coalition if the fighting against Hamas in Gaza doesn’t resume after the current first phase of the ceasefire deal.
Likewise, Transportation Minister Miri Regev promises to “continue until we return all the hostages home, both living and dead, and destroy Hamas’s governmental and military capabilities.”
