Prisoner exchange? Israeli captive families demand answers from Netanyahu
The families of more than 220 captives seized by Hamas demanded answers from the Israeli government with many fearing a military onslaught on the Gaza Strip is putting the captives’ lives at risk.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu broke off from war planning for a hastily arranged meeting on Saturday with captive families after they threatened to start street protests to highlight their desperation.
As the meeting went ahead, Hamas said Israel would have to release all Palestinian prisoners from its jails to secure freedom for the hostages seized by Hamas fighters on October 7.
Netanyahu made no commitment to any deal but told the families, “We will exhaust every possibility to bring them home”, according to a video released by his office. Finding the hostages – whose ages range from a few months to more than 80 – was an “integral part” of the military operation, he added.
At a later press conference alongside Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Hamas had to be forced to the negotiating table but that it was “very complex”.
“The more military pressure, the more firepower and the more we strike Hamas – the greater our chances are to bring it to a place where it will agree to a solution that will allow the return of your loved ones,” he said.
‘Every minute an eternity’
The government says it confirmed 229 captives from more than 20 countries were taken on October 7. The Hamas military wing says that “almost 50” hostages have died in the daily Israeli air raids on Gaza.
“We are ready to conduct an immediate prisoner exchange deal that includes the release of all Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in exchange for all prisoners held by the Palestinian resistance,” Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s leader in the Gaza Strip, said in a statement.
Thousands of Palestinians are held in 19 prisons in Israel and one inside the occupied West Bank.
A representative for the families told Netanyahu they support a full prisoner swap.
