During his speech at the World Biblical Competition ceremony, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of the question of hostages and declared that “their return is very important”, but that “war has a supreme objective which is victory over our enemies”. There are “still up to 24 people alive, a total of 59. We want to bring them all back”.
“The Prime Minister, the return of the hostages is not ‘less’ important, it is the supreme objective which must guide the Israeli government,” retorted the Families des Otages forum. “The families of the hostages are worried: Netanyahu align with Smotrich, unlike the overwhelming majority of the Israeli public who wishes the return of all hostages above all. Even today, we will remember and recall that there is no complete independence for the State of Israel and the people of Israel without the return of our brothers and sisters”.
EINAV, mother of the hostage Matan Tzangauker, added: “I understand that Netanyahou has more important objectives than to bring back my sick son, who has been chained for a year and a half and drinks the water from the toilet in the Nazi tunnels of Gaza. For this reason, it is clear for me that to bring my son, my goal from now on is to oust Netanyahu in power”.
As a reminder, during the meeting of Netanyahu and his wife Sara with the torchlight bearers before the day of independence (Yom Haatsmaout), his office broadcast a recording in which he affirms that there are “24 living hostages in Gaza”, to which Sara Netanyahu pointed out to him: “There are fewer”.
Following this declaration of the couple, the families of the hostages then reacted with anger. Einav Tzangauker, said: “If the Prime Minister’s wife has new information on hostages that have been killed, I demand that she tell me if my matan is still alive, or if he has been killed in captivity because her husband refuses to end the war. You have done something unforgivable, it is their child that you declared assassinated in captivity”.
A source within the negotiation team then declared that “the number of living hostages (24) mentioned by the Prime Minister during the meeting with the torchlight carriers is indeed the correct official number, and it is also the official number that the coordinator of prisoners and disappeared submitted to the mediators during the negotiations”.
In addition to the mother of hostage Matan Tzangauker, the Family Forum of the hostages had then declared: “You sowed an indescribable panic in the hearts of the hostages families, we demand that the Prime Minister clarify his remarks and that of his wife, if there are documents or new information concerning the state of our loved ones, we demand to know them in their entirety”.
