Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu swore to eliminate Hamas leadership and destroy the terrorist organization in an address shortly after the Israel Defense Forces recovered the bodies of six hostages killed in the tunnels under Rafah, Gaza.
“This is a difficult day for us,” Netanyahu began. “Together with all citizens of Israel, I was outraged to the depths of my soul by the horrific, cold-blooded murder of six of our hostages: Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Master Sergeant Ori Danino. May God avenge them.”
The prime minister, after thanking the Israeli troops who have embarked on hostage rescue missions, turned his attention to the captors.
“I say to the Hamas terrorists who murdered our hostages and I say to their leaders: You will pay the price,” Netanyahu pronounced. “We will not rest, nor will be silent. We will pursue you, we will find you, and we will settle accounts with you . . . We saw the inconceivable brutality of the Hamas murderers on October 7 and we have seen it again in the tunnels under Rafah. The fact that Hamas is continuing to perpetrate atrocities like those it carried out on October 7 requires us to do everything so that it will be unable to perpetuate these atrocities again.”
Netanyahu closed his remarks by addressing the prospect of a deal to free remaining hostages — and whether Hamas has acted in good faith at any point in the process.
“Citizens of Israel, our efforts to free our hostages are continuing constantly,” he said. “Since December, Hamas has refused to hold genuine negotiations. Three months ago, on May 27, Israel agreed to a hostage-release deal with full backing from the U.S. Hamas refused. Even after the U.S. updated the deal framework on August 16, we agreed, and Hamas again refused. In recent days, as Israel has been holding intensive negotiations with the mediator in a supreme effort to reach a deal, Hamas is continuing to steadfastly refuse all proposals. Even worse, at the exact same time, it murdered six of our hostages.”
The terrorist organization’s conduct, Netanyahu argued, demonstrates that it has no intention of entering any agreement.
“Whoever murders hostages does not want a deal,” he concluded. “For our part, we will not relent. The government of Israel is committed, and I am personally committed, to continue striving toward a deal that will return all of our hostages and ensure our security and our existence.”