Netanyahu clashes with hostage relatives
The relatives of hostages have had a particularly terrible few weeks. There are repeated accusations that the Israeli government is not doing enough to bring back the people who are in the clutches of Hamas. Anger is unleashed towards Prime Minister Netanyahu.
According to media reports, a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and relatives of Israeli Hamas hostages resulted in a harsh exchange of words. As reported by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz and the TV channel N12, Netanyahu said during the meeting with the relatives: "At the moment there is no way to get everyone back. Can anyone imagine that we would refuse if that were an option?" This statement caused outrage among the relatives.
According to reports, the meeting with Netanyahu and his war cabinet was also attended by a number of hostages who had already been released and told of the horrors they had experienced during their captivity in the Gaza Strip. The daughter of a hostage abducted by the Islamist Hamas in the coastal strip reportedly said that the hostages were living on borrowed time and stressed that their return to Israel should have a higher priority than the ongoing war against the Hamas terrorist organization.
Netanyahu, on the other hand, read his remarks from a piece of paper and did not allow any questions to be put to him, which is said to have annoyed those present. The discussion then became increasingly heated and shouts of "shame" were heard.
The hostages' relatives have been demanding a new meeting with Netanyahu for some time, claiming that they have felt ignored since the end of the ceasefire. In the unprecedented terror attack by Hamas and other extremist groups on Israel on October 7, around 240 people were abducted in the Gaza Strip. Israel assumes that 137 hostages are still being held there. Recently, 105 hostages were released in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
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Following the heated exchange with Netanyahu, calls for his resignation regarding the ongoing Wars and conflicts in Israel increased among the hostage relatives. Despite being a key player in Israel's political landscape, Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of hostage situations, including the recent incident with Hamas, has become a source of controversy.
Source: www.ntv.de
