Relatives of Israelis held hostage by the Islamist group Hamas in Gaza interrupted a speech by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Parliament this Monday (December 25) as he declared that he needed “more time” to fulfill his promise to all To save victims, to fulfill them.
“Now, now,” family members shouted as the nationalist leader explained that Israeli forces needed “more time” to free the 129 hostages out of an initial total of nearly 240 taken to Gaza by militiamen after the unprecedented attack. Islamists in southern Israel on October 7th.
A weeklong ceasefire in late November enabled the release of 105 hostages, including 80 Israelis, who were exchanged for 240 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
“What if it was your son?”, “80 days, every minute is hell,” said some posters displayed by the families in Parliament, which organized a special session to honor the hostages.
After declaring that he would spare no effort to secure the release of the hostages, Netanyahu stated that this would only be possible by maintaining “military pressure.”
He said he had spoken to military commanders in the combat zone and they said they needed “more time.”
“We cannot stop the war until we achieve victory over those who attack our lives,” he declared. “We won’t stop until we win.”
Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israeli territory on October 7 killed nearly 1,140 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP report based on information released by Israeli authorities.
According to the Hamas authorities, which rule the Palestinian territory, at least 20,674 people most of them women and minors have died in Gaza since the Israeli army began its offensive in retaliation for the attack.