Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday warned that the only way Gaza can see a peaceful future is if Hamas is “destroyed,” though the tough rhetoric out of Washington this week has hostage families, and at least one former hostage, concerned that it could jeopardize the safe return of the hostages still held by the terrorist group.
“I was deeply moved by the reception that we got, the substantive things that we discussed, making sure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon, and also making sure that Hamas is destroyed,” Netanyahu said in reference to his meetings with President Trump and lawmakers on the Hill. “We’re not going to have a future for Gaza or for a future for peace in our part of the world if Hamas remains there.”
Netanyahu’s comments came just three days after Trump sent geopolitical shockwaves by announcing his supposed plans for the U.S. to “take over” the Gaza Strip and called for the mass removal of millions of Palestinians living there.
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Netanyahu, who spoke alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson from the U.S. Capitol and championed their “warm personal bond,” did not take any questions from the press.
Ruby Chen, father of American-Israeli hostage Itay Chen, an IDF soldier who was captured while fighting Hamas on Oct. 7, responded to Fox News Digital’s questions and said, “Netanyahu needs to keep the eye on the ball: priority is the release of all the hostages and then the other issues.”
“Netanyahu was responsible for Oct. 7 and needs to release the hostages taken,” he added.
Hamas, along with dozens of other nations in the Middle East and across the globe, not only rejected the plans but on Friday delayed the release of names for the next round of hostages set to be freed on Saturday under the agreements of the ceasefire deal.
Following an hours-long delay, Hamas on Friday said it would release Eli Sharabi, 52, Or Levy, 34, and Ohad Ben Ami, 56, the Times of Israel reported.
Sharabi was taken from Kibbutz Beeri while his wife and daughters were killed in their safe room. Levy was taken from the Supernova music festival where his wife was killed. Ami was taken alongside his wife from Kibbutz Beeri, and his wife Raz Ben Ami was freed in the November 2023 hostage deal.
The delay came as reports suggested that families of the hostages still held in Gaza, at least one former hostage, as well as mediators involved in the ceasefire talks, have grown concerned the comments coming from the Trump-Netanyahu meeting could derail the continued release of hostages.
Just 13 of the 33 hostages slated to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire have been freed.
At least eight of the hostages scheduled to be returned during the first 42 days were confirmed by the IDF to have been killed while in Hamas activity, though the fates of Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel who was four years old when he was abducted alongside his brother Kfir, who was nine months old, remain unknown despite claims by Hamas that they were killed by an Israeli airstrike.
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At least nine hostages are still believed to be alive who are scheduled to be released in the first round, while the release of the remaining 65 hostages, at least 26 of whom are believed to also have been killed, will be negotiated for release following the initial 42-day period.
Reports have indicated that officials are still set to travel to Qatar on Saturday to begin negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire – a process that was delayed one week.
A spokesman for Netanyahu on Friday said that the prime minister views Hamas’ delay in releasing the names of the hostages intended to be released on Saturday as “serious” and a “violation” of the ceasefire agreement.
The prime minister’s office confirmed to Fox News Digital that he will be monitoring the fifth hostage release scheduled for Saturday from Washington, D.C., where he will remain through the weekend.
Reports this week suggested that Netanyahu had presented Trump with a plan to end the war in Gaza in exchange for assurances from Hamas that it would relinquish its power in the war-torn region and that its leaders would go into exile.
Netanyahu’s office denied these claims to Fox News Digital.
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