In cabinet meeting, premier insists issue of Israeli presence on Gaza-Egypt border ‘existential,’ while vowing to ‘exact a price’ from terror group for murder of six hostages in Gaza
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly charged on Monday that a one-day general strike during which hundreds of thousands of Israelis called for the government to seal a hostage-ceasefire deal in Gaza was “a disgrace” that in effect showed support for the Hamas terror group.
The strike, called by the Histadrut Labor Federation on Sunday after the Israel Defense Forces recovered the bodies of six hostages executed by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, took place on Monday amid growing anger at Netanyahu and his government over their insistence on pressing additional demands in negotiations with the Palestinian terror group that are seen as hamstringing a deal.
The strike was halted by a court order on Monday afternoon, though the Hostages and Missing Families Forum encouraged the public to continue the demonstrations.
The strike “is a disgrace. It’s telling [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar — you murdered six people. Here, we support you,” Netanyahu was quoted by Israeli outlets as saying during a cabinet meeting, while vowing that Israel would “exact a price from Hamas for the murder of the hostages.”
The prime minister has reportedly ordered the government to prepare recommendations within 48 hours for a strong response to Hamas over the execution of the six hostages: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Alex Lobanov, 32, Carmel Gat, 40, and Almog Sarusi, 27.
According to quotes published by Hebrew media on Monday, Netanyahu also defended the cabinet’s vote in favor of his position of maintaining an Israeli military presence along the Gaza-Egypt border under any potential deal.
Autopsies showed the hostages were executed by gunshot between Thursday and Friday morning. The timing led some commentators to suggest the murders were in response to the cabinet’s largely symbolic vote on Thursday night backing Netanyahu’s demand that any deal sees Israel retain control of the Gaza-Egypt border.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has reportedly called on Netanyahu to reverse the decision, calling it “an unnecessary constraint that we’ve placed on ourselves.”
“We have to stay on the Philadelphia Corridor, it is essential for Israel’s security,” Netanyahu said. “In addition, if we leave it will be difficult for us to return. This is a critical time in the war to maintain the corridor, without which we will not be able to fulfill the goals of the war.”
The prime minister’s insistence on not withdrawing from the Gaza-Egypt border corridor in the first 42-day phase of a hostage-ceasefire deal, in order to prevent Hamas smuggling in arms, has been widely reported to be a key obstacle to a deal.
According to Channel 12, Netanyahu called the Philadelphi Corridor “Hamas’s lifeline,” adding, “I won’t let them rearm and massacre us again. This isn’t merely a diplomatic issue; it’s a strategic, existential issue for the State of Israel.”
“If we withdraw, we won’t [be able to] return there — not for 42 days and not for 42 years,” he was quoted as saying.
Israel declared war and vowed to destroy Hamas’s military and governance capability after October 7, when thousands of terrorists burst into Israel from Gaza, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping 251, mostly civilians, while committing numerous acts of brutality and sexual assault.
Netanyahu was quoted saying on Monday that in the almost 11 months since, the focus of the campaign has been on destroying Hamas’s military capabilities. Now, he said, “the focus will be the denial of governmental capabilities. There will be a change in food and humanitarian aid distribution.”
Meanwhile, the prime minister on Sunday offered a rare apology for failing to secure the release of slain hostage Alex Lobanov, one of the six captives taken on October 7 who was executed by Hamas in Gaza late last week.
“I want to tell you how sorry I am, and I ask for your forgiveness for not succeeding in bringing Sasha home alive,” he told Oksana and Gregory Lobanov, using their son’s nickname, according to a readout from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Netanyahu also plans to speak to the families of the other five hostages who were murdered by Hamas murdered last week as Israeli forces closed in on their location in the Gaza Strip, according to the statement. Channel 12 reported Sunday that two families had turned down the offer of a call from the prime minister and that others were yet to respond.
Lobanov, 32, was abducted from the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im during the devastating October 7 Hamas attack, which saw terrorists kill some 1,200 people and kidnap 251 to Gaza, mostly civilians. Over 350 were massacred at the rave, where Lobanov was working as head bartender.
He was laid to rest at the New Cemetery in Ashkelon on Sunday evening and is survived by his parents, his wife Michal, a toddler, and a baby who was born after he was kidnapped.
The apology to his family was apparently a first for Netanyahu, who has said that accountability for failures in the lead-up to October should come after Hamas is defeated — a declared goal of Israel’s military response to the attack along with rescuing the hostages. He has previously apologized only that the terror group’s October 7 attack had happened, and only in response to a question in English-language media.
The discovery of the six captives’ bodies has brought to a fever pitch hostage families’ accusation that Netanyahu is thwarting a hostage deal out of fear his far-right coalition partners will topple the government if he ends the fighting in Gaza.
Netanyahu, for his part, said in a pre-recorded message Sunday that Hamas had refused to hold serious talks since December.
It is believed that 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 33 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 37 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
As reported by The Times of Israel