Pressure mounted on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza after six of them were killed, with US President Joe Biden accusing him of not doing enough to secure a deal. On Monday night, Hamas released a video showing a woman who was among the six hostages before she was killed.
Latest news
⇒ Netanyahu accuses Hamas of executing hostages with a “shot in the back of the head”
⇒ Hamas: hostages returned “in coffins”
⇒ UK suspends arms export licenses to Israel
Netanyahu accuses Hamas of executing hostages with ‘shot in the back of the head’
Nearly 11 months into the Gaza war, sparked by an October 7 attack by the Palestinian Hamas on Israel, the warring parties have exchanged fresh threats following the army’s discovery of the bodies of six Israeli hostages in a tunnel in southern Gaza.
After publicly asking for “forgiveness for not having brought back alive” these hostages, Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of having “executed” them with a “bullet in the back of the head” and vowed to make the Islamist movement pay “a very high price”.
Hamas: Hostages Returned “in Coffins”
Hamas has warned that the hostages still being held in Gaza will be returned “in coffins” if Israel continues its military pressure “instead of reaching an agreement,” according to the spokesman for the movement’s armed wing, Abu Obeida. A senior Hamas official previously claimed that the six hostages had “been killed by Israeli fire.”
Mobilization intensifies in Israel
In Israel, the mobilization is intensifying: new demonstrations in Israeli cities, strikes in several cities with disruptions at Ben Gurion airport, and increasing number of declarations calling for the departure of Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We want the (Netanyahu) government to cease to exist, we want elections, and above all we want him to sign an agreement to free the hostages and end this war. […]”, Barak Hadurian, a protester in Tel Aviv, told AFP.
Israeli President ‘sorry’
At the funeral of Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, one of the six hostages found dead, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said: “How sorry I am that we failed to bring him home.”
Netanyahu wants to maintain control of a corridor
On Monday, the Israeli prime minister reiterated the need for Israel to maintain control of a corridor on the border between Gaza and Egypt, a sticking point in the negotiations.
Benjamin Netanyahu says he wants to continue the war until the destruction of Hamas, which took power in Gaza in 2007 and is considered a terrorist movement by the United States and the European Union.
Biden criticizes Netanyahu again
The United States, Israel’s main ally, is also increasing pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu. Before meeting with American negotiators who participated in the fruitless talks of recent months, Joe Biden answered “no” to a question from the press asking him if Netanyahu was “doing enough” to obtain an agreement on the release of the hostages.
Joe Biden reiterated “his outrage at the killing (of the hostages) and reaffirmed the importance of holding Hamas accountable.”
UK suspends arms export licences to Israel
For its part, the United Kingdom announced the suspension of certain arms export licenses to Israel, citing a “risk” that these weapons would be used in Gaza, in violation of international law. Israel said it was “disappointed”.