Benjamin Netanyahu’s hands ‘will be soaked with the blood of the hostages’ if his plan to seize control of all of Gaza leads to the deaths of any more, one captive’s mother has warned.
Israel said Friday it will intensify its 22-month war with Hamas by taking over Gaza City, stirring fears for Palestinian civilians and hostages still held in the shattered enclave.
The military campaign has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the population, destroyed much of the infrastructure and pushed the territory toward famine.
Families of Israeli hostages rallied again on Saturday to pressure Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government into striking a deal for their return.
Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held in Gaza, called on Israelis to ‘help us save the hostages, the soldiers and the state of Israel … Shut the country down.’
Addressing Netanyahu, she said: ‘If you conquer parts of the Strip and hostages are murdered, we will go after you in the squares, in the elections, and at any time and place.’
Speaking outside of the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, she said: ‘We will remind the people of Israel, day and night, that you could have brought a hostage deal and you decided to kill them.
‘Your hands will be soaked with the blood of the hostages.’
Far-right allies in Netanyahu’s coalition have been pushing for a total takeover of Gaza as part of his vow to eradicate Hamas militants.
However, the military has warned this could endanger the lives of the remaining hostages.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid called the decision to send Israeli forces into Gaza City a disaster, saying it defied the advice of military and security officials.
He accused far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich of dragging Netanyahu into a prolonged campaign that would result in the deaths of hostages and soldiers.
Netanyahu told Fox News Channel’s Bill Hemmer in an interview that aired on Thursday that Israel did not want to keep the Gaza Strip, but to establish a ‘security perimeter’ and to hand over the territory to Arab forces.
The announcement from the prime minister’s office early on Friday, following Thursday’s security cabinet meeting, said the military would take Gaza City, but did not say if Israeli forces would take all of the enclave. Israel’s cabinet is expected to endorse the Gaza City plan.
Israeli media have said 900,000 people now live in Gaza City, including many who have been displaced by the military.
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‘Where should we go? Do we throw ourselves in the sea?’ said Maghzouza Saada, a displaced Palestinian from Gaza’s north.
Before the war, Hamas’ most powerful fighting units were believed to operate in northern Gaza, including Gaza City.
There are 50 hostages still held in Gaza, of whom Israeli officials believe 20 are alive.
Most of those freed so far emerged as a result of diplomatic negotiations.
Talks toward a ceasefire that could have seen more hostages released collapsed in July.
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