Freed hostages feared being killed by bombs
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war Cabinet were assailed by released hostages and the families of those still being held by Hamas, who shared the horror of their experiences and questioned the government’s efforts to free the nearly 140 who remain in captivity.
In a heated meeting Tuesday, Netanyahu and his colleagues argued that the only way to obtain concessions from Hamas is through a military campaign, and some relatives of hostages shouted “shame’’ at the prime minister when he raised the question of how to get the rest of the captives back.
“This entire performance was ugly, insulting, messy,’’ Dani Miran, the father of a male hostage, told Israel’s Channel 13, according to Reuters. Miran said he was so upset, he walked out midway through the meeting.
Israel’s Ynet News published portions of audio from the session, in which a hostage who had been kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz tells about her ordeal. She was released along with more than 100 other captives during the weeklong truce that ended Friday and said she feared for her life because of the Israeli airstrikes.
“We were in tunnels, terrified that it would not be Hamas but Israel that would kill us, and then they would say Hamas killed you,’’ she said. “So I strongly urge that the prisoner exchange begins as soon as possible and everyone needs to return home.’’
Another former hostage who was freed with her daughters but not her husband questioned how much the Israeli government knows about what Hamas is doing and raised the alarm about plans to flush out its fighters from the tunnels under Gaza.
“We felt as though no one was doing anything for us. The reality is that I was in a hideout that was bombed and we became wounded refugees,’’ she said. “My husband was separated from us three days before we returned to Israel and was taken to the tunnels. And you’re talking about flooding the tunnels with seawater?’’
Some families of hostages have accused Netanyahu of prioritizing the destruction of Hamas above freeing the hostages. He argued that it wasn’t until the Israel Defense Forces launched their ground attack that Hamas was willing to negotiate their release.
“The second matter you raised, which is distressing, is hearing about the ordeals you endured with our bombings and military operations, those of the IDF, and it continues. It’s true,’’ Netanyahu said. “I find it deeply saddening. I can assure you that it’s not just saddening, as my colleagues will affirm, it also influences their operational considerations. And if you intended to convey this message, you have succeeded.’’
Developments:
∎ Yehya Sinwar, Hamas’ top leader in Gaza, and military chief Mohammed Deif grew up in a refugee camp in Khan Younis, the southern city Israel is now attacking. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said Sinwar is “not above ground, he is underground,” adding, ”Our job is to find Sinwar and kill him.”
∎ Some women in Gaza have been seeking increasingly scarce menstrual pads through social media. “For women and girls, the suffering is double,” said a Palestinian woman who identified herself as Umm Ahmed. “It’s more humiliation.”
∎ Netanyahu said a “minimal amount” of fuel will be allowed into the southern Gaza Strip occasionally to prevent a humanitarian crisis and the spread of disease. Israel has mostly blocked fuel supplies from entering the territory since the war started, saying Hamas takes it for military purposes.
∎ With the border city of Rafah swelling to more than twice its usual population of 280,000 because of incoming refugees, Egypt has deployed thousands of troops and erected earthen barriers to prevent a mass influx of Palestinians. Egypt says such migration would undermine its decades-old peace treaty with Israel.
∎ The Gaza Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll has surpassed 16,200, and more than 42,000 people have been wounded. The ministry said 70% of the dead were women and children. Israel has not disputed the counts but says it has killed more than 5,000 militants and accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields.
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Palestinians at shelters in Gaza’s second-largest city were fighting each other over food Wednesday while the urban combat outside intensified, as Israeli ground forces clashed with Hamas militants in the center of Khan Younis.
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