Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Tuesday to hunt down terrorists who hurt hostages being held in the Gaza Strip, speaking during a visit to the Netzarim Corridor that splits the coastal enclave between north and south.
"To those who are holding our hostages: Whoever dares to harm our captives — his blood is on his own head. We will pursue you, and we will get you," warned the Israeli leader in a video in Hebrew recorded on Gaza's beach alongside the Mediterranean Sea.
At the same time, "whoever brings us a hostage will be given a safe way, for him and his family, to leave. We will also give a reward of $5 million for each kidnapped person. You choose — the choice is yours — but the result will be the same. We will return everyone," he added.
'We are not letting up'
Netanyahu visited alongside Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, and Ronen Bar, the director of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet).
"We are making an effort — from this place and everywhere — to locate our hostages and return them. We are not letting up. We will continue to do this until we get them all, both the living and the dead," he said.
Katz reiterated that the return of the 101 hostages still held by Hamas terrorists for 410 days remains the "most important mission," followed by the destruction of Hamas' "military" and governmental capabilities.
"We need to make sure that Hamas does not rule here 'the day after,'" he stated, vowing that the IDF will "complete its mission" in the enclave.
Following the visit to Gaza, the prime minister attended an assessment at the IDF's Gaza Division, where he was updated on the operational achievements and continued developments in the war, his office said.
On Monday, Netanyahu told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Hamas continues to frustrate ongoing hostage talks in the hopes of ending the war and returning to power in the Gaza Strip.
"The only thing that Hamas wants is a deal that ends the war and for the IDF to leave the Strip in order to return to power," the premier said, per Walla. "I am not ready to allow that under any circumstance."
The prime minister said during the closed-door meeting that he believes some 50 out of the 101 remaining hostages held by Hamas remain alive.
He told committee members that while there is currently no concrete proposal on the table, various "ideas have come up" in recent days.
The remarks came a day after Netanyahu called an emergency meeting following Hamas' rejection of all proposals currently on the table, a senior Israeli security source told the country's Channel 13 News.
The Qatari-owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed outlet cited a Hamas source as saying earlier this week that the Islamist organization's leadership has cut all contact with those actually holding the hostages, due to "strict security measures to protect the important negotiation card."
The source added that Hamas has refused to provide information on the whereabouts and status of the hostages, in particular those with U.S. citizenship, as it has not been offered "compensation" by mediators.
Also on Monday, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who leads the Religious Zionism Party, told reporters that the IDF should occupy the entire northern part of the Strip until the hostages are released.
Jerusalem needs to "inform Hamas in clear terms that if the hostages do not return, we exercise our sovereignty and stay there forever," he said, adding, "Then, Hamas will have the motivation to keep them alive."
Roughly 1,200 Israeli Jews were murdered by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, thousands more were wounded and 251 others were taken into Gaza. On-and-off indirect talks between Israel and Hamas have dragged on for months, with the United States, Egypt, and Qatar acting as intermediaries.
Republished with permission from Jewish News Syndicate