The Hague should apply pressure
Hostage families want to sue Hamas bosses
February 11, 2024, 4:37 a.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
The relatives of the Hamas hostages are distraught over the failure of a new deal to release their loved ones. Now they want to sue the terrorist leaders at the International Court of Justice. To increase the pressure, which they believe Prime Minister Netanyahu is not doing.
According to media reports, relatives of the Israeli hostages kidnapped in the embattled Gaza Strip want to bring charges against the leaders of the Islamist Hamas before the International Criminal Court. As the Israeli news site “Ynet” and the “Jerusalem Post” reported in the evening, a delegation from the Forum of Hostage Families wants to travel to the headquarters of the Criminal Court in The Hague for this purpose on Wednesday. The aim of their lawsuit is to obtain arrest warrants against the leaders of Hamas. In this way, the aim is to increase the pressure to obtain the hostages’ release.
On October 7, terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups attacked southern Israel. They killed 1,200 people and kidnapped another 250 to the Gaza Strip. Since then, Israel’s military has launched massive air strikes and a ground offensive against Hamas and its allies in the coastal area.
Allegations against Netanyahu
During a ceasefire last November, 105 hostages were released in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners. There are currently 136 people in the hands of Hamas, but according to Israeli estimates, at least 30 of them are no longer alive. Diplomatic efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the US are aimed at bringing about a longer ceasefire in the Gaza war. As part of this, the hostages are to be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israel in several phases.
However, the negotiations are currently making slow progress. In Israel, several thousand people demonstrated again on Saturday evening for the release of the hostages. Relatives accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of torpedoing the ongoing negotiations with Hamas through the mediating states. Several hundred demonstrators blocked some of the coastal metropolis’s main traffic arteries later in the evening. The police arrested at least seven of the blockers. There were also demonstrations for the release of hostages in Jerusalem and Haifa.