Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing anger from relatives of the hostages after declaring that Israel’s top priority in Gaza is defeating Hamas, not securing the release of hostages.
Speaking at the annual Bible Contest in Jerusalem on Yom Ha’atzmaut, Netanyahu said that while freeing captives was “a very important goal”, the “supreme objective” is military victory.
“We have many goals in this war. We want to bring all our hostages home, we’ve brought back 147 alive, 196 in total,” he said. “There are another 24 alive, 59 total, and we want to return the living and the dead. It’s a very important goal. War has a supreme goal. The supreme goal is victory over our enemies, and this we will achieve.”
The comments triggered a furious response from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, who accused the prime minister of abandoning the central moral imperative of the war.
“Prime Minister, returning the hostages is not ‘less important’; it is the supreme goal that should guide the Israeli government,” the Forum said in a statement. “This position contradicts the will of the overwhelming majority of the Israeli public, who place the hostages above all else.”
The group also expressed alarm at what it called Netanyahu’s alignment with far-right ministers like Bezalel Smotrich, who have opposed any deal with Hamas involving a ceasefire or prisoner swap.
President Isaac Herzog, speaking at a separate Independence Day event at his Jerusalem residence, offered a contrasting message, appealing directly to foreign governments to intervene.
“I call upon all of your nations and upon all people of morality to see in this moment the moment to act swiftly and decisively,” he told foreign diplomats. “Bring all of them home. Every last one. Urgently.”
As of Thursday, 59 hostages remain in Gaza, including at least 24 believed to be alive. Hundreds of Israelis, including former Shayetet 13 commandos, have joined renewed public calls for their return, some even demanding that the war be ended if necessary to secure their release.
