Families accuse Netanyahu of sacrificing hostages as army resumes Gaza strikes
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Mrs Einav Zangauker (second from left), mother of Israeli hostage Matan Zangauer, protesting on March 18 with supporters against Israel's renewed strikes on the Palestinian territory.
PHOTO: AFP
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JERUSALEM – Relatives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza said on March 18 that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to return to fighting in the Palestinian territory could “sacrifice” their loved ones after the military carried out a wave of air strikes.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said it had received no response to its request to meet Mr Netanyahu and other officials to hear how the remaining hostages would be “protected from the military pressure”.
“Now it becomes clear – the public officials did not meet with them because they were planning the explosion of the ceasefire, which could sacrifice their family members,” the campaign group said.
Of the 251 hostages seized during the unprecedented October 2023 Hamas attack
The overnight air strikes
The Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza said at least 413 people were killed
The forum called on supporters of the hostages to demonstrate outside Mr Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem, warning that “military pressure could further endanger their lives and complicate efforts to bring them back safe and sound”.
“The families of the hostages will demand: Stop the killing and disappearance of the hostages now! First, return them – then everything else.”
A few dozen people turned out for the protest, where relatives of hostages who were already confirmed dead warned that “continued fighting would lead to more hostage deaths”.
They “urged an immediate ceasefire and return to negotiations to secure the release” of all those still in Gaza.
The return of the hostages is a priority for the majority of Israelis.
“This morning, the moment we realised that we were going back to war, the first thing I thought about was: What about the hostages? This is a death sentence for the hostages, and it’s simply terrible,” said Mrs Muriel Aranov, a 62-year-old pensioner living in Tel Aviv.
Mr Netanyahu on March 18 took part in a security assessment with defence officials in Tel Aviv, including Defence Minister Israel Katz, his office said.
An earlier statement from Mr Netanyahu’s office said the strikes were ordered after “Hamas’ repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators”.
“We are at an impasse, we have said ‘yes’ more than once to concrete proposals from the US special envoy to extend the ceasefire, and Hamas has said ‘no’,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said in a briefing.
“From now on, Israel will act against Hamas with increased military intensity,” he added. AFP
