Israel’s Netanyahu willing to risk hostages’ lives ‘to look strong’, says former premier

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is willing to risk the lives of hostages held by Hamas if it serves his image, a former premier said Sunday.

“It’s more important for Netanyahu to look strong than to get a deal,” Ehud Barak told Israeli Army Radio in an interview.

Hamas is believed to be holding more than 130 Israeli hostages following its cross-border attack on Oct. 7.

The Palestinian group demands an end to Israel’s deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip for any hostage swap deal with Israel.

Barak called on Israelis to stage mass protests against Netanyahu’s government.

“We need 30,000 citizens circling the Knesset in tents for three weeks, day and night. When the country is shut down, Netanyahu will realize that his time is up and that there is no trust in him,” he said.

On Saturday, Israeli police arrested 18 people during protests in Tel Aviv to demand a hostage swap deal with Hamas and the dismissal of Netanyahu's government.

Last week, families of hostages held by Hamas said they would escalate protests against Netanyahu’s government to pile pressure for their release.

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

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, killing more than 29,690 people and causing mass destruction and shortages of necessities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory'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, according to the UN.

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

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala