Israel’s Netanyahu Rejects Hamas’s Terms for Hostage Release

Benjamin Netanyahu

(Bloomberg) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected what he said were unacceptable terms presented by Hamas for a new hostage deal.

“Hamas is demanding, in exchange for the release of our hostages, the end of the war, the withdrawal of our forces from Gaza,” Netanyahu said in a video statement. He said Hamas was also demanding a release of militants who killed some 1,200 people in October. Israel has said it aims to destroy Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organization by the US and EU.

“Were we to agree to this, our soldiers would have fallen in vain and the next Oct. 7 would be only a question of time,” he said. Israel is obliged to return all the hostages home but “the conditions being proposed by Hamas underscore a simple point – there is no substitute for victory. Only total victory will ensure the elimination of Hamas and the return of all our hostages,” he said.

Public and political pressure to bring the hostages back home has been rapidly increasing over the past several days.

Over the weekend family members demonstrated in front of Netanyahu’s private residence calling him to “stop the execution” of the remaining hostages. On Sunday, they set up an encampment in front of his official residence in Jerusalem.

Gadi Eisenkot, a former chief of general staff in the Israeli army and a member of the war cabinet, said in an interview last week that “it is impossible to return the hostages alive in the near future without a deal.”

“And anyone who says different is lying to the public,” said Eisenkot, a political rival of Netanyahu who joined the government after the Oct. 7 attacks.

Officially 132 hostages remain in Gaza, though 27 are known to be dead. Of them, 121 are Israeli, and another 11 are foreign nationals from Thailand, Nepal, Tanzania, France and Mexico. Nineteen are women.

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the US, Egypt and Qatar are pushing Israel and Hamas to join a phased diplomatic process that would start with a release of hostages and eventually lead to a withdrawal of Israeli forces and an end to the war in Gaza.

Hamas and Israeli officials didn’t officially comment on this, however Hamas’s long standing position has been that any deal would require a cease-fire first.

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