Netanyahu unwilling to rescue captives 'without political benefits': Report

News Desk - The Cradle

From the beginning of the war, Israeli ministers have prioritized destroying and ethnically Gaza over winning the release of captives taken by Hamas on 7 October

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not reach a deal to bring back Israeli captives held by Hamas unless it will benefit him and fellow members of his governing coalition, Israeli media reported on 31 May.

On 30 May, Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told relatives of Israeli captives held in Gaza that the Netanyahu government would only reach a deal to bring back their loved ones if it provided a political benefit.

“He said that if there is a way in which they can bring about the return of the hostages – it is if polls tell the government that from a political point of view, it will pay off,” Gil Dickmann told Army Radio. Dickmann’s cousin, Carmel Gat, is being held captive by Hamas in Gaza.

One day before, Hanegbi was quoted by Channel 12 as saying the government would not stop the war to free the remaining captives.

On 7 October, as the Hamas operation to attack Israeli military bases and settlements (kibbutzim) near Gaza was underway, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged the Israeli army to aggressively attack Hamas without regard for the captives the group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, had taken.

Israeli media later reported that on 7 October, the army issued the Hannibal Directive, ordering the killing of fellow Israelis to prevent them from being taken back to Gaza as captives by Hamas. The Palestinian resistance group sought to take captives to exchange them for some of the thousands of Palestinians held captive in Israeli prisons.

Israeli forces opened fire on Hamas fighters and Israeli civilians alike using heavy weapons from attack helicopters, tanks, and drones.

Carmel Gat and other members of her family were taken captive by Hamas from Kibbutz Be’eri on 7 October. She has now been held in captivity for over seven months, while other members of her family were released during the temporary ceasefire and captive exchange in November.

Gat’s 68-year-old mother, Kinneret Gat, was likely killed by Israeli forces, per the Hannibal Directive, on 7 October. Reuters reported that a video appeared on social media of Hamas fighters leading Kinneret and others on foot on the road leading to Gaza. However, Kinneret was somehow killed before reaching the strip. Her body was later found on the western edge of the kibbutz near the cemetery.