The father of an Israeli captive currently held in Gaza has slammed Netanyahu, saying the Israeli PM only “cares about his coalition and that it survives”, reports Al Jazeera.
Israeli media outlet Haaretz quoted Yehuda Cohen, father of 20-year-old captive Nimrod Cohen, as saying in a discussion in the Knesset that “it is more important to Americans to release the hostages than it is to the Israeli government”.
“Trump is siding with Netanyahu and talking directly with Hamas to release the hostages, while Netanyahu is counting down the days until the budget law is passed on March 17. All he cares about is that his coalition survives.”
Meanwhile, captives’ families call on Netanyahu to secure return in ‘one fell swoop’
The Bring Them Home Now campaign, comprising families of the Israeli captives held in Gaza, has called on Netanyahu to grant the negotiating team a “full mandate” to secure the return of all captives at the same time.
“There is an absolute majority of the people who demand the return of all the abductees in one fell swoop, above all else. The testimonies of the returnees leave no doubt – the abductees are running out of time,” the campaign wrote on X.
“In the last breath, hostages who were alive and who we were able to save were returned. Dragging feet in negotiations will cost the lives of additional hostages and the loss of the ability to return the dead for burial and close the circle for their families,” the group added.
An Israeli delegation is expected to be in Qatar today to negotiate the next stage of the ceasefire deal, 10 days after the first phase expired.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
