A state of anger prevailed among the families of Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip when they met with members of the War Council led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and some of them withdrew from the meeting in protest at the failure to answer their questions.
The families say that there are 136 Israelis detained in Gaza by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and other Palestinian resistance factions.
“More than prisoners”
Israeli Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu said in his response to the families of prisoners and detainees held by the resistance: Do you think that releasing the prisoners all at once is possible?
He responded to his question by saying that if the opportunity permits, we will not hesitate, indicating that Hamas does not want only prisoners in exchange for prisoners, but rather wants to achieve other things.
Meanwhile, Occupation Army Radio reported that Netanyahu informed the families of Israeli detainees in Gaza that “there is now no possibility of returning all the detainees.”
During the meeting, he also stressed the continuation of the military operation in Gaza, considering it the only way to put pressure on Hamas to reach a new agreement.
For its part, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said that Netanyahu refused to answer questions from the families of detainees in Gaza, and instead insisted on reading from a paper he wrote.
Anger and fistfight
For its part, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that a number of detainees’ families left the meeting with the war council angry and before its end date.
She pointed out that the meeting between the released detainees and representatives of the prisoners’ families with the War Council was stormy and witnessed an exchange of shouts and accusations.
It also quoted one of the released detainees as saying that the Israeli army attacks almost claimed their lives.
Raz Ben Ami, who was released from captivity after leaving the meeting, said, “I am worried and angry, and I hope everyone will return to their homes.”
According to the Israeli Kan channel, the detainees who were released and participated in the meeting raised fears that the occupation army raids would harm the prisoners in Gaza.
Israeli Channel 13 quoted the mother of a prisoner in the grip of the resistance as telling the war council: You are bombing planes above our heads. We are dying from terror and fear, and Hamas fighters do not wake up from sleep and not a hair on their bodies shakes, “We are the ones who are tormented, we are the ones who die,” adding that the remaining prisoners and detainees “ They are living in conditions more difficult than hell under the non-stop bombing, which we felt was among us and would hit us at every moment.”
Amit Segal, a political commentator on the Israeli Channel 12, stated that physical confrontations took place between the families of the kidnapped, against the backdrop of the presence of different factions in the families, between those who support the continuation of the ground operation and the majority that demands its cessation.
Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported, citing Aviva Segal, who was detained in Gaza and released as part of the deal with Hamas, “Bombs exploded above us from a plane, and the Hamas continued to sleep, and your bombs did not move them.”
One of the commissioners said about the detainees’ families to the Israeli Kan channel after the meeting, “There are no leaders here, only those holding positions. Today or tomorrow we will evaluate the situation regarding our next steps.”
Sharon Sharabi, brother of soldiers Yossi and Eli Sharabi who are detained by Hamas in Gaza, said, “We are not here to meet the leaders only, but we are demanding the return of the kidnapped people to Israel. Since they sent them to the front, they must return them.”
It is noteworthy that Netanyahu’s office announced – last Saturday – that the negotiations with Hamas had reached a dead end, and that the negotiations had led to the release of 84 Israeli detainees from the Gaza Strip.
In return, Israel released 240 Palestinian children and women from Israeli prisons in 7 batches, over a period of 7 days that witnessed a humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip, which included the introduction of relief aid into the Strip.
