Islamists want army withdrawal
Netanyahu rejects Hamas’ hostage demands
January 21, 2024, 8:04 p.m
More than 130 people are still in the hands of Hamas. The terrorist organization is now proposing to release the hostages if, among other things, Israel withdraws its armed forces from the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Netanyahu rejects this outright.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has categorically ruled out the release of Israeli hostages on the terms of the Islamist Hamas. He said in a video message that he was working “around the clock” to free the more than 130 hostages held by Hamas. “But let’s be clear: I reject in the strongest possible terms the Hamas monsters’ terms of surrender,” he added.
In exchange for the release of the hostages, Hamas would demand an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the continuation of its government power in the coastal strip. It would also call for the release of the “murderers and rapists” captured by Israel in the wake of the brutal October 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas and other extremist groups. “I am not prepared to accept such a deadly blow to Israel’s security,” he said.
In Israel, thousands of people demonstrated on Saturday to demand an end to the fighting in the Gaza Strip in order to enable the hostages to be released. In the attack on October 7th, terrorists from Hamas and other groups murdered 1,200 people in southern Israel and kidnapped another 250 into the Gaza Strip.
The unprecedented terrorist attack triggered the Gaza war. Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, the number of Palestinians killed in the coastal area has risen to over 25,000 since the start of the war. This cannot currently be verified independently.