Biden's remarks on Gaza cease-fire yet another proof Netanyahu preventing hostage deal, say families

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) – A forum for the families of Israeli hostages said on Monday that US President Joe Biden's recent statement on the Gaza cease-fire is another proof that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preventing their sons from returning from captivity in Gaza.

Biden said early Monday that he did not think Netanyahu was doing enough to secure a hostage deal with Hamas.

"If we wanted more evidence on Netanyahu's failure to return the hostages, we got it from the US president," the forum said in a statement quoted by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

The forum described Netanyahu's recent statement that he would not withdraw from the Gaza-Egypt border area, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, as "dangerous, and means there won't be a deal, and families won't see their loved ones return home."

Netanyahu reaffirmed his intention to stay in the Philadelphi Corridor earlier in the day. "If we withdraw, we won't (be able to) return there — not for 42 days and not for 42 years," Israel’s Channel 12 reported him as saying at a Cabinet meeting.

The premier was referring to the first 42-day phase of a proposed Gaza cease-fire and hostage swap deal with Hamas.

Netanyahu claimed that the Philadelphi Corridor, a demilitarized area on the border between Gaza and Egypt, is a “lifeline” for Hamas.

Israel estimates that more than 100 hostages are still being held by the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza, some of whom are believed to have been already killed.

For months, the US, Qatar, and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and a cease-fire and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands to stop the war.

Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip has killed nearly 40,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured over 94,200 others, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of the enclave has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide for its actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar