Families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza have accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “abandoning” their loved ones for his political survival, according to Anadolu Agency.
The criticism follows the Israeli army’s announcement on Tuesday that the bodies of six hostages had been recovered from the Palestinian enclave.
The Israeli public broadcaster KAN said that the hostages were alive when they were taken to Gaza on October 7.
Mati Dancyg, whose father was among the six dead hostages, expressed his outrage, saying, “he and all the hostages could have been brought back.”
Netanyahu chose to sacrifice the hostages. Karma will judge him and he will pay for it, big time.” He accused the Israeli premier of prioritizing his political survival over the lives of the hostages.
Shahar Mor, whose uncle died in Gaza, echoed these sentiments, stating that the Israeli government “wasted time and opportunities to save him. The blood is on the hands of the government. For Netanyahu’s survival, my uncle died,” he told Radio 103FM.
In a collective statement, the families of the hostages held Netanyahu’s government responsible for the deaths, citing delays in negotiating a swap deal with Hamas.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid also blamed Netanyahu for the “tragic outcome,” criticizing the retrieval of the captives’ bodies instead of their safe return.
Israel estimates that around 110 Israelis remain held in Gaza. Hamas has claimed that many hostages were killed during Israeli attacks on the enclave.
In June, the Israeli army rescued four hostages from the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, but the operation resulted in over 210 Palestinian civilian deaths due to heavy artillery and airstrikes.
Efforts by the US, Qatar, and Egypt to mediate a prisoner exchange and cease-fire have been stalled, largely due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’s demands to stop the ongoing war.
Despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, Israel’s offensive on Gaza, which began after a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, continues.
The conflict has led to over 40,170 Palestinian deaths, primarily women and children, and more than 92,740 injuries, as reported by Palestinian health authorities.
The ongoing blockade of Gaza has resulted in severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, leaving the region in dire conditions.
Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in Rafah, where over one million Palestinians sought refuge before the invasion on May 6.