Families of Israeli hostages demand premier agree to hostage swap deal with Hamas

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - The families of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip demanded on Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accept a swap deal with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

"It is your duty to ignore any political pressure,” said hostages' families in a brief letter sent to Netanyahu, according to the daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

“History will not forgive you if you waste the opportunity to bring them home,” they added.

Netanyahu reportedly faces growing pressure not to accept a deal that would lead to ending the war in Gaza and canceling plans for a military offensive into Rafah.

Israel's opposition accuses Netanyahu of trying to sabotage a hostage swap deal with Hamas.

Tel Aviv believes 134 Israelis are being held in Gaza, while Israel is holding some 9,000 Palestinians in its jails.

Israel has killed more than 34,600 Palestinians since an Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attack by Hamas in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed and around 250 hostages taken.

A previous deal last November saw the release of 81 Israelis and 24 foreigners in exchange for 240 Palestinians, including 71 women and 169 children.

The US, Qatar, and Egypt have tried to broker an agreement to release the remaining Israeli captives.

The conflict has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in January issued an interim ruling that ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi