Father of American hostage held by Hamas says Netanyahu 'driven primarily by a desire to retain power'

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - A parent of an American being held hostage by the Palestinian group Hamas in the besieged Gaza Strip starkly rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, saying he is more concerned with retaining his grip on power than brokering an agreement to free hostages.

“I think the vast majority of Israelis now have come to believe, by his actions, not his words, but by his actions, that he’s been driven primarily by a desire to retain power with a narrow, very radical messianic coalition in the Israeli government,” Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of Sagui Dekel-Chen, said during an interview with CBS News’ “Face the Nation” television show.

"And he has made choices to pursue this fantasy of total victory over Hamas, a terrorist organization, no doubt, but his idea of total victory is a messianic one from his coalition partners, and not realistic, and he's preferred that, at least to date, over the well-being of all the hostages," he added.

Sagui Dekel-Chen, 35, was taken hostage during the cross-border raid on Israel led by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year. About 250 people were taken from Israel back to Gaza that day. An estimated 1,139 people were killed.

Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli military said it recovered the bodies of six individuals who were taken hostage on Oct. 7. It identified the deceased as Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Master Sergeant Ori Danino.

Goldberg-Polin, a native of Berkeley, California, was one of the Americans who had been held in Gaza.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum directly criticized Netanyahu, holding him accountable for the deaths.

“If it weren’t for the saboteurs, the excuses, and the spin, the hostages whose deaths we learned of this morning would probably be alive,” the forum said in a statement on X. The statement continued: “Netanyahu: enough of the excuses. Enough of the spin. Enough of the abandonment. The time has come to bring our hostages home — those living for rehabilitation and the fallen and murdered for burial in their land.”

For months, diplomatic efforts led by the United States, Qatar and Egypt have aimed to broker an agreement between Israel and Hamas to facilitate a prisoner exchange and establish a cease-fire. These efforts have also sought to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. However, negotiations have stalled, largely due to Netanyahu’s refusal to halt the ongoing military campaign.