Hostage families fume at PM for suggesting deal imminent, before walking back remark

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu infuriated hostage families on Monday after declaring that he hoped to make an announcement regarding the hostages “today or tomorrow,” only to later assert he was not speaking literally.

“I really hope we can announce something regarding the hostages, if not today, then tomorrow,” Netanyahu said at the tail end of a video statement. He has been issuing near-daily videos in recent weeks updating the public on his efforts as premier while tearing into various accusations against him, particularly those criticizing his handling of the war.

The remarks prompted a flood of inquiries from hostage families surprised to hear that a breakthrough in the long-stalled negotiations with Hamas was on the horizon.

Recognizing that his comment had quickly made waves, the Prime Minister’s Office sent a statement to reporters in the name of a “senior official” that attempted to walk back Netanyahu’s remark.

The “official” claimed the prime minister’s comments should not be seen as a signal of an impending deal.

“The prime minister meant that we will not give up on freeing our hostages, and if we don’t achieve that, hopefully in the coming days, we will achieve it later on,” the statement said, adding that, as of now, “Hamas continues to cling to its refusal.”

Hostage families lashed out at Netanyahu for getting their hopes up.

“We feel like we’re being abused,” said a statement attributed to “hostage families” that was aired on Channel 12. “Every comment like this makes our already broken hearts leap. The expectation, when it comes to such a sensitive subject, is that they will show the minimum sensitivity and choose their words carefully.”

“What Netanyahu is doing here is psychological terrorism against the families,” hostage Matan Zangauker’s mother Einav tweeted. “Netanyahu is abusing us day and night, while my Matan is alone in the tunnel.”

Netanyahu also falsely claimed in the Monday video that the last hostage deal in January was signed after he replaced the heads of the Shin Bet and Mossad with his confidant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, as head of Israel’s negotiating team. In fact, that shake-up did not take place until February. Since then, only American-Israeli hostage soldier Edan Alexander has been freed, but Dermer was not involved — or even initially aware of — the US efforts to secure his release from Hamas captivity.

Apparently acknowledging that the anonymous statement issued by his office was insufficient in assuaging the hostage families’ anger, Netanyahu addressed the issue himself in a speech during the Jerusalem Day state ceremony held at the capital’s Ammunition Hill.

“The task in Gaza, including the task of returning our hostages, keeps us busy every day and every night,” he said. “We aren’t letting go of this, and if we don’t fulfill it today, we will do it tomorrow. And if not tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow.”

He went on to accuse Hamas of being “stubborn” and rejecting offers for ceasefires, arguing that US special envoy Steve Witkoff also says so.

Earlier Monday, Witkoff denied claims that Hamas had accepted his hostage deal proposal, calling on the terror group to agree to a temporary ceasefire offer that he said Israel will approve.

Several foreign media sites earlier in the day cited unnamed Hamas officials declaring that the terror group had accepted an updated proposal from Witkoff.

But Witkoff poured cold water on the apparent breakthrough, telling the Axios news site, “What I have seen from Hamas is disappointing and completely unacceptable.”

The US envoy went on to assert that “Israel will agree to a temporary ceasefire that would see half of the living and deceased hostages return “and lead to substantive negotiations to find a path to a permanent ceasefire, which I agreed to preside over.”

“That deal is on the table. Hamas should take it,” Witkoff said.

The deal being discussed would see around 10 living hostages and 10 bodies of hostages, along with hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners, released in two stages during a roughly two-month ceasefire. During that time, Israel and Hamas would hold negotiations on the terms of a permanent truce, with the US providing assurances that it will keep Israel at the table, officials familiar with the matter have told The Times of Israel.

Hamas is seeking guarantees from the mediators that Israel will hold negotiations on the terms of a permanent ceasefire after it had agreed to do so as part of the last hostage deal signed in January but ultimately refused, with Netanyahu ordering the resumption of the war in March.

Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 58 hostages — 57 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023, when some 1,200 people were killed.

The remaining hostages include the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF, and 20 are believed to be alive. There are grave concerns for the well-being of three others, Israeli officials have said. The body of an IDF soldier killed in Gaza in 2014 is also being held.

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