Former Israeli defence minister Gantz accuses PM Netanyahu of ‘sabotaging’ hostage deal negotiations with Hamas

Benny Gantz. (Wikimedia Commons/IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

JAKARTA - National Union Chairman Benny Gantz accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of ‘sabotaging’ hostage deal negotiations with Hamas.

Gantz, a former defence minister, said Israel is currently in the midst of a ‘sensitive’ period, but ‘Netanyahu is once again running to foreign media and talking,’ Gantz said.

‘Netanyahu, you have no mandate to thwart the return of our hostages again for political reasons,’ Gantz said, calling the deal the right thing to do on humanitarian and national security grounds, as quoted by The Times of Israel 23 December.

‘And one more thing,’ Gantz concluded, ’you said in the Wall Street Journal Hamas should not rule Gaza because it is 30 miles from Tel Aviv. So let me remind you: Hamas should not rule Gaza because it is two kilometres from Nir Oz and Be'eri, and four kilometres from Sderot. Their security must be restored, and the hostages taken from their beds there must be returned.’

Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel moved closer to a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal last week, as the United States along with Egypt and Qatar continued to mediate a two-stage truce.

Israel emphasised its demand for the return of all remaining hostages in Gaza. Meanwhile, Hamas emphasised that an agreement could be reached as long as Israel did not continue to add new conditions that could hamper the agreement.

Gantz's comments come after PM Netanyahu told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published last week, he ‘will not agree to end the war before we get rid of Hamas.’

It is known that the latest conflict in Gaza broke out on 7 October 2023, after militants led by Hamas attacked southern Israel, leaving around 1,200 people dead and more than 250 people kidnapped as hostages, according to Israeli calculations, quoted by Reuters.

Yesterday, Gaza health authorities confirmed that the Palestinian death toll since last year's conflict had reached 45,259, while the wounded reached 107,627, the majority of whom were children and women, as reported by WAFA.