Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the hostage-taker is not interested in a ceasefire deal. He promised that Israel would deal with “Hamas” after the announcement that six hostages held in the Gaza Strip were found dead, the world agencies reported, quoted by BTA.
„We will search for you, we will catch you and we will deal with you”, Netanyahu declared.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant called for an emergency meeting of the security cabinet. He proposed that the cabinet reverse its decision to retain control of the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, which is seen as an obstacle to a potential deal with “Hamas” to exchange hostages.
„It is too late for those hostages who were killed in cold blood. But we must bring back those who are still in captivity,'' Gallant wrote in “Ex“.
בשעה קשה וקואבת זו, ליבי עם מצעליםיהם של חללים:
אורי דנינו ז״ל
Aleks Lubnov ז״ל
אלמוג סרוסי ז״ל
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កាងាង רבה לולוחמי צה״ל ושב״כ על מצעען הילוץ משפשל.
יהי זכרם ברוק🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/3wC7qUDtT5— יואב גלנט - Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) September 1, 2024
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He assured that Israel will deal with all “Hamas leaders and murderers”. Earlier this week, the security cabinet voted to keep Israeli troops stationed in a 14-kilometer corridor between Gaza and Egypt, complicating negotiations with “Hamas” for a ceasefire. Israel claims that Hamas tunnels that allow weapons to be smuggled between Egypt and Gaza are under the corridor, but Egypt denies this.
During the cabinet meeting, there was a heated exchange between Netanyahu and Gallant, with the latter accusing the prime minister of prioritizing military control over efforts to free the hostages. Gallant said Netanyahu's decision could sentence the hostages to death.
Representative of “Hamas“ Izzat al-Rishk blames Israel for the deaths of the hostages, saying Israel did not want to make a deal.
Earlier today, Israeli forces announced that they had found and recovered the bodies of six hostages in the Gaza Strip. They have been identified as Carmel Gat (40 years old), Eden Yerushlami (24 years old), Hersh Goldberg-Paulin (23 years old), Alexander Lobanov (33 years old), Almog Saruzi (27 years old) and Ori Danino (25 years old). They were killed shortly before Israeli forces could rescue them. Their bodies were taken to Israel.
Carmen Gat was abducted from a kibbutz, and Goldberg-Paulin and the other four were abducted from the “Nova“ music festival attacked on October 7.
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, expressed outrage and sorrow at the death of the hostages, among whom was the American-Israeli Goldberg-Paulin.
Goldberg-Paulin lost part of his arm in a grenade attack on October 7. The video of his injury published by “Hamas” in April, sparked protests in Israel with calls for the government to take more action to free the hostages.
Goldberg-Paulin's parents, immigrants from the US, met the US president, the Pope and spoke at the United Nations and at the American Democratic Convention.
Yerushlami was a bartender at the "Nova" festival. Lobanov was married, the father of two children, and worked as a bar manager at the festival. Saruzi liked to travel and was at the festival with his girlfriend, who was also killed by the attackers.
Danino, born in Jerusalem, was the eldest of five siblings and planned to study electrical engineering. He was kidnapped while helping others escape from the festival.
Carmen Gatt loved solo travel and rock concerts, was a therapist and worked in Tel Aviv. During the months of captivity, she taught the other hostages meditation and yoga to help them survive.