Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu has apologized to the relatives of the recently killed hostages. It was not possible to save them. He also promised retaliation. But the pressure for a hostage agreement is growing.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reacted with shock to the discovery of six hostages killed by the militant Islamist Hamas. “I ask for your forgiveness for not bringing them back alive,” he said at a press conference. “We were close, but we didn't succeed.” The Prime Minister also threatened retaliation: “Hamas will pay a high price for this.”
Before Netanyahu, Israeli President Isaac Herzog had already apologized. “I apologize on behalf of the State of Israel for failing to protect them from the terrible disaster of October 7. For failing to bring them home safely,” Herzog said at the funeral of US-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin in Jerusalem in front of thousands of mourners.
The Israeli army announced on Sunday morning that it had discovered the bodies of six hostages in an underground tunnel in the south of the Gaza Strip. According to media reports, the Israeli Health Ministry said the hostages had been shot at close range about 48 to 72 hours before the autopsy.
Thousands of demonstrators – strike ended prematurely
Large demonstrations for an agreement to release the remaining hostages followed on Sunday evening. Today, further demonstrations took place in several parts of Israel. There were also protests near Netanyahu's home with several hundred participants. “Your decisions will lead to their deaths,” Israeli media quoted a man whose brother is still being held in the Gaza Strip as saying.
In support of an agreement, many people took part in a general strike – which was, however, ended prematurely by court order at the request of the right-wing minister Bezalel Smotrich. Nevertheless, there were delays in public transport, and connections were cancelled at Ben Gurion Airport. Banks and some shopping centres remained closed, but there were no major disruptions.
Biden criticizes Netanyahu's efforts
Pressure on Israel to reach an agreement is also growing internationally. US President Joe Biden said in Washington that they were “very close” to a final agreement to release the remaining hostages from Hamas. When asked what led him to this conclusion after the many unsuccessful attempts to reach a deal, he said that hope dies last. At the same time, he criticized Netanyahu's role in the negotiations. When asked whether he was doing enough to reach a hostage agreement, Biden replied: “No.”
In a statement, relatives of the hostages praised Biden's efforts to reach an agreement and called on Netanyahu to show similar determination. “The people of Israel will not allow the nearly eleven months of neglect of the hostages to continue,” they said. “Every day could be their last, as the killing of the six hostages in recent days has shown.”
Netanyahu rejects withdrawal from Philadelphia Corridor
Indirect negotiations have been going on for months between Israel and the terrorist militia Hamas, in which Qatar and Egypt are acting as mediators alongside the USA, in order to achieve a ceasefire and the release of the hostages. However, the talks are not making any progress. According to information from the Washington Post, the mediators want to present the conflicting parties with a final proposal for an agreement. If both sides do not accept this again, it could mean the end of the negotiations, a senior official in the Biden administration was quoted as saying.
However, Netanyahu apparently does not want to give in during the negotiations. Israel must maintain control over the area on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, he said. This will ensure that the remaining hostages “are not smuggled out of the Gaza Strip.” Israel's withdrawal from the so-called Philadelphia Corridor is one of the central points of contention in the talks.
