Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out a ceasefire in Gaza, declaring: “This is a time for war,” while hailing the rescue of a hostage as evidence that Israel’s military offensive can free Israeli prisoners while dealing devastating blows to Hamas.
The Israeli prime minister congratulated the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet security service for the release of Ori Megidish, an army private, but Israeli joy was marred by a Hamas video of three other prisoners still in captivity.
Megidish was released on Sunday evening, three weeks after she was kidnapped along with more than 220 other hostages as Israel escalated its ground operation in Gaza. After a medical examination found she was healthy, she was reunited with her family, bringing a rare sight of joy to Israelis.
Netanyahu told a news conference that the army’s advance through Gaza had opened up opportunities to release hostages, something Hamas would only do under pressure. “That creates pressure. We are determined to bring all hostages home. We believe this method has a chance.”
Calling for a ceasefire means calling on Israel to surrender to terrorism and barbarism, the prime minister said. “That will not happen. The Bible says there is a time of peace and a time of war. This is a time of war.” He called Hamas militants “monsters” and said Israel would continue to persecute them.
‘A time for war’: Israel will not agree to ceasefire with Hamas, says Netanyahu – videoThe rescue of Megidish reinforced the government’s claim that it could wage war and rescue hostages at the same time. However, many relatives of the hostages support accepting an offer from Hamas to exchange them for about 5,000 Palestinians, including Islamist militants, in Israeli prisons.
The Israeli government rejected the offer. Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer said if there was a proposal to release the hostages, the government would consider a “temporary pause” in hostilities to get them out safely.
Hamas’s military wing ratcheted up the pressure by releasing a video of three hostages – Danielle Aloni, Rimon Kirsht and Elena Trupanov – held on October 7 during a Hamas attack that killed more than 1,400 people in southern Israel , were kidnapped.
The accompanying video description said: “A number of Zionist prisoners held by al-Qassam send a message to Netanyahu and the Zionist government.”
It is believed the three women appeared in the video under duress. The Geneva Conventions prohibit taking hostages.
The 76-second clip showed the women sitting together on plastic chairs in front of a tiled wall and looking into the camera. They showed no visible signs of injury.
Only Aloni, who sat in the middle, spoke. She looked directly into the camera and said they had been in captivity for 23 days, suggesting the video was filmed on Sunday or Monday, when the death toll in Gaza from the Israeli bombardment was rising, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry exceeded 8,000.
Aloni addressed Netanyahu directly, accusing the Netanyahu government of leaving her community defenseless during the Hamas attack. “We are being punished for your political, national neglect,” she said. “Nobody came. Nobody heard us.”
She said there should be a ceasefire. “We are innocent citizens. Citizens who pay taxes to the State of Israel. You want to kill us all. They want to kill us all with the help of the IDF.”
She advocated a prisoner exchange. “Let your citizens go, let your prisoners go. Free us. Free us all. Let’s go back to our families now!” In the end, she screamed “now” several times. Trupanov and Kirsht remained silent and largely avoided looking at the camera.
Netanyahu called the video “cruel psychological propaganda” and sent a message to the women: “Our hearts are with you and the other prisoners.”
Aloni was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz along with her six-year-old daughter Emilia and the family of her twin sister Sharon Aloni Konio.
At a press conference in Tel Aviv, her father, Remus Aloni, said his heart “almost stopped beating” when he saw her on television. He appealed to the Red Cross to visit the hostages and asked Qatar, which had mediated with Hamas, to help bring them home. “I want to say to Danielle and Sharon: Girls, see you. We love you. We hear you. We think about you every minute, every second.”
Kirsht’s mother said she was worried her daughter showed up without glasses. “She needs her glasses. She can’t see anything.” She appealed to Netanyahu to do everything possible to free the hostages.
Earlier Monday, relatives gathered in Jerusalem for an “empty bed” installation in which 239 beds and bassinets – equal to the estimated number of hostages – were placed in Safra Square.
Yael Moshe, 48, held a poster with a picture of her mother Adina Moshe, 72, who was kidnapped from a kibbutz. “She has a heart condition but a strong spirit,” Moshe said. She was worried about the IDF offensive in Gaza. “My stomach hurts. I don’t want to think about it.”
Yael Moshe holds a poster with the image of her murdered father David and her kidnapped mother Adina at a ceremony in Jerusalem. Photo: Rory Carroll/The GuardianMoshe advocated clearing Israeli prisons of Palestinians to get the hostages back. “Whatever it takes, do it. After that, the government can do whatever it wants.”
Relatives of other hostages also supported a swap, saying that once the hostages were released, Israel would have a free hand to attack Hamas. “Let’s get them out so we can take revenge for the massacre,” Eyal Mor said.