To the families of the six hostages, he said, “I ask your apology that we did not succeed in bringing them home alive.”
TOVAH LAZAROFF
SEPTEMBER 2, 2024 22:09
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a press conference in Jerusalem following the recovery of the bodies of six slain Gaza hostages.(photo credit: screenshot, YOUTUBE)Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a rare apology to the families of the six executed hostages, but insisted that he would not cave on the issue retaining an IDF force in the Philadelphi Corridor.
“My heart and the heart of the nation is shattered into pieces,” Netanyahu said in a special press conference in which he defended that position.
He spoke as the death of the hostages shot at close range by their captors over the week, rocked the nation, with the major union holding a national strike demanding a deal.
To the families of the six hostages, he said, “I ask your apology that we did not succeed in bringing them home alive.”
Earlier in the day, US President Joe Biden blamed both Netanyahu and Hamas for the absence of a deal.
Netanyahu in his press conference, announced after those comments, defended his decision to hold fast to the Philadelphi, emphasizing that this save the potential to return the remaining 101 hostages and doesn’t prevent it.
Philadelphi is non-negotiable
“We will not give up on existential issues, but we have been flexible on many other things” that are elements of the deal, he said.
“The moment Hamas understands this, we will have a deal,” he said.
If Israel caved now on the issue of Philadelphi it would send the wrong message to the terror group, he said.
Content retrieved from: https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-817463.