From the Liveblog of
Sunday, July 28, 2024
‘Propaganda’: Ben Gvir denies report that Hamas sent him footage of hostages being tortured
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"
National Security Minister denies receiving footage of Israeli hostages being tortured, after The Telegraph reports that Hamas sent him such material in a bid to pressure him to ease the conditions of Palestinian security detainees.
According to the British daily, a video sent to Ben Gvir showed “hostages being tortured while Hamas warn that harsher conditions for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel are affecting the well-being of hostages in Gaza.”
“Hamas did not send me any video and I refuse to cooperate with Hamas propaganda: you should only talk to Hamas through gunsights,” Ben Gvir says in response.
“The terrorist organization Hamas did not look for any excuse on October 7 to murder, rape, kidnap and abuse living civilians and even corpses, and even murdered hostages in captivity. Hamas must be defeated, and we must not submit to its dictates that demand surrender: the territory of the Gaza Strip must be occupied permanently, humanitarian aid must be stopped, and it must be defeated,” he declares.
“The conditions of terrorists in prisons have indeed worsened and the summer camps have stopped and I am proud of that,” Ben Gvir adds. “I have no intention of submitting to the dictates of Hamas.”
