‘Enough’ of remaining Israeli hostages alive to warrant Gaza war, Netanyahu says
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Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it is doing its best to rescue the hostages held in Gaza and retrieve the bodies of those who died.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview aired on Feb 11 that “enough” of the 132 remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza are alive to justify Israel’s ongoing war in the region.
Asked how many of the hostages are still alive, Mr Netanyahu said “enough to warrant the kind of efforts that we’re doing”.
“We’re going to try to do our best to get all those who are alive back and, frankly, also the bodies of the dead,” he said in the interview with ABC’s This Week programme.
Mr Netanyahu also said that one Palestinian civilian has been killed for every Hamas fighter killed in Gaza.
The health authorities in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, estimate that Israel’s military offensive in the enclave has killed about 28,000 Palestinians since the war began last October.
The offensive was in response to a Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct 7
Israel’s military campaign has displaced most Palestinians in Gaza and led to a humanitarian crisis.
On Feb 8, US President Joe Biden suggested that Israel’s military response in Gaza has been “over the top”
He said he is seeking a “sustained pause in the fighting” to help ailing Palestinian civilians.
On Feb 11, Mr Netanyahu said he has not spoken to Mr Biden since he made those comments.
"I appreciate President Biden's support for Israel since the beginning of the war. I don't know exactly what he meant by that," Mr Netanyahu said in reference to the US leader's comments. REUTERS
