Worried about security?

Former hostages criticize Israeli government

Protest by relatives of the hostages in Israel(Bild: APA/AFP/AHMAD GHARABLI)

Several former Israeli hostages have now criticized the course taken by the Israeli government. If the other hostages do not come home, everyone will know "that we live in a country that is not worried about our security, that does not protect its citizens", said one released woman.

Everything is in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hands, said another former hostage. She was very afraid that there would be no more abductees to free if he continued on his way, she told the Times of Israel newspaper.

Netanyahu recently reaffirmed his government's hard line. It was necessary to continue building up military pressure on Hamas in order to free those abducted in the Gaza Strip. There was no alternative to a military collapse of the terrorist organization.

Protest by relatives of the hostages in Jerusalem(Bild: APA/AFP/AHMAD GHARABLI)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sticking to his hard line.(Bild: AP)

Netanyahu: Conditions lead to massacre
As reported, Hamas has made new demands for a possible hostage deal. These include, for example, indirect talks, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the occupied territories, the release of Palestinians and the exchange of bodies.

Netanyahu vehemently rejected this. He is convinced that these conditions would foreseeably lead to another massacre (see video above). In return for the release of Israeli hostages, Hamas had demanded that more than 1500 Palestinian prisoners be released from prisons. A third of them were sentenced to life imprisonment or at least very long sentences.

Blinken sees chances of a deal
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who traveled to Israel for talks, sees a chance for a deal between Israel and Hamas. The proposal is not yet optimal, "but we see room in what came back to continue the negotiations and see if we can come to an agreement."

We also see room in what came back to continue the negotiations and see if we can come to an agreement.

US-Außenminister Antony Blinken

Terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups carried out a massacre of hundreds of civilians in Israel on October 7. More than 200 people were taken hostage at the time, some of whom have since been released. Since then, the Israeli military has been waging war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The high number of civilian casualties has triggered international criticism of Israel's actions.