PM tells released hostage Israel ‘didn’t lose’ on Oct. 7, but ‘entire existence’ of state at risk due to Iran

In a meeting last week with released hostages and family members of hostages still held by Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a released hostage whose son is still in captivity that Israel didn’t “lose” on October 7 when it failed to stop the Hamas massacre, because “during the Holocaust, they committed ‘October 7’ 4,500 times every single day.”

In recordings obtained by Channel 12, Netanyahu is heard speaking to the hostage families about the deal, but appears to wish to focus mostly on the importance of Israel defending itself against threats from Hezbollah and Iran, despite that not being the focus of the meeting.

“I want to tell you what I’m busy with,” Netanyahu can be heard telling the hostage families, the voices of whom have all been altered by Channel 12 to protect their privacy. “I am dealing with [preventing] the destruction of this country.”

In response, one of the former hostages asks if he is saying that “the war is more important than the hostages,” to which the premier responds that maybe she “wasn’t listening” carefully enough to him.

He continues, telling the released hostages that the future of the State of Israel “is in question.”

“The entire existence of the state, the entire existence of Nir Oz, which is being rejuvenated, of Be’eri, of Tel Aviv, of Ra’anana, of Tiberias, of Haifa — everything, everything is in question,” he says. “I’m telling you the truth, that we can prevent it. We need to address this plan for the destruction of Israel.”

Pushed again by the attendees to return to the issue of the hostage deal, Netanyahu appears to lose his patience.

“We’re only talking about the deal,” he can be heard saying, before appearing to mimic those in favor of a deal. “If we make a deal everything will be resolved — Iran will stop, etc., etc.,” he says. “That’s crazy. Just delusional. There’s no other word for it.”

“Iran is planning our annihilation, Hezbollah is planning our annihilation, they’re in a ring around us and we’re saying we won’t go like sheep to the slaughter,” he continues, invoking a Hebrew phrase used to imply that the Jews went passively to their deaths during the Holocaust.

One of the former hostages responds, asking if “that means I won’t see my son,” and another chimes in, saying that yes, that is “exactly what he wants.”

Netanyahu responds that it is “exactly the opposite” of what he was saying.

After the discussion turned to the issue of the hostage deal, one of the released hostages criticizes the frequent talk of “victory” against Hamas, and says that she “understands ‘victory this, victory that,’ but we already lost on October 7.”

“Let’s return the hostages, that’s how we’ll win,” she adds.

Responding to her, the prime minister says Israel “did not lose. We said it was the worst event that happened since the Holocaust, and it is different from the Holocaust. In the Holocaust, there were 4,500-5,500 [October 7’s] every day.”

“Here, after they did one day of it, we went in there and we’re beating those killers,” he adds.

The released hostage, whose son is still in captivity, shouts in response that she is “currently in a holocaust.”

“My son is there, I am in the Holocaust,” she exclaims. “I’d rather die than live here!”

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