Touring Gaza, PM vows Hamas won’t return to power, offers $5 million for hostages
Netanyahu says captives will be freed regardless, even as defense officials said to warn him that a ceasefire deal is the only way to rescue them
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Tuesday that Hamas would not rule in Gaza after the war, seemingly rejecting efforts to reach a ceasefire with the terror group still partially intact as he visited an Israeli military position in the enclave.
The premier also reiterated an offer to lavishly pay Gazans who turn over Israeli hostages, upping the reward to $5 million for each captive, after previously suggesting Israel would pay “several million” for their recovery.
The visit came as Israel presses an offensive in northern Gaza to root out resurgent Hamas activity, and amid dire warnings about the condition of the Israeli hostages who remain captive some thirteen months after they were abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023.
In a video of the visit later published by Netanyahu’s office, the prime minister said that IDF troops in the enclave had “achieved excellent results toward our important goal — that Hamas will not rule in Gaza. We are destroying its military capabilities in a very impressive manner, and we are moving on to its ruling capabilities… Hamas will not be in Gaza.”
In addition, he said, Israel is also doing everything it can “to locate our hostages, and return them. We are not letting up. We will continue to do so until we get them all — both the living and the dead.”
Addressing “those who are holding our hostages,” Netanyahu said, “Whoever dares to harm our hostages — he is a marked man. We will pursue you and we will get you.”
Netanyahu spoke after visiting the Netzarim corridor, a belt running the width of the Strip where Israeli troops have dug in for several months, controlling access between the northern and southern halves of the enclaves and building out infrastructure for a semi-permanent presence, though Hamas has insisted that the IDF fully withdraw in any ceasefire and hostage release deal.
In his remarks, the premier offered $5 million and safe passage out of Gaza for anyone who turns over a hostage, seemingly upping a previous offer.
“The choice is in your hands, but the result will be the same. We will bring everyone home,” he said.
It is believed that 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 37 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
Netanyahu has insisted that Israel can both continue fighting and recover the rest of the captives, despite mediators insisting that the best way to get the hostages out is via a deal. Reports in recent days have suggested that senior defense officials concur, warning Netanyahu that the captives are being endangered by the ongoing war and advising him that striking a deal with the terror group is the only way to free them.
The prime minister was slated to participate in a high-level meeting Tuesday night about the condition of the hostages, where defense officials were expected to warn him again that continuing the war could harm the captives that remain alive, Channel 12 reported.
On Sunday, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, who accompanied him to Gaza, were each briefed separately by senior defense officials on the subject of the hostages, and were presented with a grim picture of the surviving captives’ condition, according to Channel 12.
Last week, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum health team assessed that some of the remaining hostages have lost around half of their body weight due to the lack of food in captivity, which will reduce the chances of their survival in the upcoming winter.
Negotiations to free the captive and reach a Gaza ceasefire have been at a virtual standstill for several months, with no apparent horizon for a meaningful resumption of talks.
Polling has found a large majority of Israelis support a hostage deal with Hamas that would end the war in Gaza, and critics of Netanyahu have accused the prime minister of keeping the war going to ensure the survival of his right-wing coalition — which includes far-right elements who want the fighting to continue and for settlements to be established in northern Gaza — and not due to security concerns, preventing an agreement.
Netanyahu was recorded late last month telling Likud lawmakers that Israel could not accept Hamas’s demand to end the war in exchange for the hostages, ostensibly over concerns that a deal would allow Hamas to remain in Gaza in some form.
On Monday, during his address to the Knesset plenum, the prime minister said, “We will bring home dozens more hostages, I hope in the near future,” but it was not clear what that assessment was based on.
During his visit to Gaza, Netanyahu toured the Netzarim Corridor, alongside Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar. There, he and Katz met at an observation point with 99th Infantry Division commander Yoav Brunner and Southern Command Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, for a survey of the region.
Later, the two officials met with commanders of reserve units on the Gaza coast, who reviewed the achievements and challenges of the ongoing fighting in the strip, a statement from the Government Press Office said.
It was Katz’s first visit to the enclave since he was appointed defense minister earlier this month. Netanyahu tapped him for the role after firing Yoav Gallant, citing a lack of mutual trust.
According to Gallant, he was sacked over disagreements with Netanyahu about the need to plan for a post-Hamas government in Gaza and the trade-offs involved in a hostage deal with Hamas, among other matters.
Speaking from Gaza, Katz identified the “rescue” of the hostages as “the most important mission,” adding, “everyone here sees it,” while also vowing, “We need to make sure that Hamas does not rule here on ‘the day after.’”
