Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a visit to Gaza on Tuesday that Hamas would not rule the Palestinian enclave after the war had ended and that Israel had
destroyed the Islamist group’s military capabilities.
Netanyahu also said Israel had not given up trying to locate the 101 remaining hostages believed to be still in the enclave and he offered a $5 million reward for the return of
each one.
“Anyone who dares to harm our hostages will have blood on their head. We will hunt you down and get you,” Netanyahu said.
“Whoever brings us a hostage will find a safe way, he and his family, to get out,” he said. “Choose, the choice is yours, but the result will be the same. We’ll get them all back.”
“We are making efforts to locate the hostages and bring them home,” he said, “We won’t give up. We will continue until we’ve found them all, alive or dead.”
The comments were made in a video recording by Netanyahu during his visit to Gaza with Israel’s defence minister and the head of its army, where he also received a briefing on
operational activities.
During Hamas attack on Israeli settlements last October, which triggered the war in Gaza, 251 Israeli hostages were taken alive. Of those, 97 are still held in Gaza including 34 who have been confirmed dead.
The hostages issue generated heat inside the Israeli parliament as MPs and the relatives of those held hostage, heckled the prime minister and shouted slogans against him. They were forcibly evicted from parliament by security.
The incident showed how deeply a section of the population felt about how Netanyahu has handled the hostages issue. There is dissatisfaction, sorrow and anger over the continued failure to secure their release and also a sense of betrayal.
With Reuters inputs
