Netanyahu tells hostage families fall of Assad regime could advance hostage deal

By Lazar Berman

You will receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page

You will no longer receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page

8 December 2024, 6:28 pm

4 Edit

Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter

Udi Goren, second from left, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he meets with relatives of Israelis held hostage in Gaza, December 8, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets separately with two hostage family groups in Jerusalem, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents most families, and the Tikva Forum, which represents a hawkish minority of hostage families who have been significantly more supportive of Netanyahu’s handling of the war than the main forum has been.

According to Netanyahu’s office, he tells them that the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria “could help advance a deal to bring back the hostages.”