The return of the 101 hostages still held by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip is Jerusalem’s “most important value goal” in the ongoing war, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterated on Sunday.
“As I defined from my first day in the role, returning the hostages home is our most important value goal,” Katz declared after his first meeting with army officials at the Israel Defense Forces Intelligence Directorate’s Headquarters of the Hostages and Missing Persons. “There have never been, and never will be, political considerations on the matter,” he added.
“Every meeting with the families of the hostages and those involved in the mission to return them fills me with more motivation, and I pledge to work together with the defense establishment in every possible way to return them home,” said Katz, who took over the portfolio on Nov. 8.
During his visit, Katz received a briefing from IDF Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, head of the IDF’s Missing and Captive Soldiers Division, and Maj. Gen. (res.) Yoav Mordechai, who alongside Alon leads the intelligence efforts to return the remaining hostages.
Shortly before his Nov. 7 dismissal, then-defense minister Yoav Gallant declared that the return of the captives had become the “most important mission” for Israel Defense Forces troops in the Palestinian enclave.
The IDF will continue to put “as much pressure on Hamas as possible in order to create the conditions necessary to ensure the return of the hostages,” Gallant told troops on Oct. 30, according to a readout.
“The political echelon must do what is necessary to bring about a deal. You must apply military pressure and do what is necessary to create the conditions required for us to carry out an agreement. This is our most important mission in Gaza at this time,” said the defense minister.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Gallant’s firing on Nov. 5, citing “substantial disagreements on the management of the military campaign, disagreements which were accompanied by public statements and actions that contravened government decisions.”
Roughly 1,200 Israelis were murdered on Oct. 7, 2023, thousands more were wounded and 251 others were taken into the Gaza Strip.
On-and-off indirect talks between Israel and Hamas have dragged on for months, with the United States, Egypt and Qatar acting as intermediaries.
The Qatari-owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed outlet cited a Hamas source as saying on Sunday that the Islamist organization’s leadership has cut all contact with those actually holding the hostages due to “strict security measures to protect the important negotiation card.”
The source added that Hamas has refused to provide information on the whereabouts and status of the hostages, in particular those with U.S. citizenship, as it has not been offered “compensation” by mediators.
According to Hamas, the Biden administration put “intense pressure” on Qatar and Egypt in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential elections in an attempt to receive proofs of life.
However, Hamas said it refused the request because the Americans failed to provide “any serious indications about stopping the aggression or reaching an agreement to stop the war of extermination in the Strip.”
On Thursday, President Joe Biden met with families of American Israelis held hostage in Gaza and “reaffirmed the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to getting the hostages home to their loved ones and families,” according to Washington’s readout of the meeting.
“The administration has worked tirelessly to get a deal done as soon as possible to bring the hostages home, and the president also assured the families those efforts will continue,” the White House statement added.
Biden had raised the hostage crisis during a discussion with President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday.
Following Thursday’s meeting, Ruby Chen, the father of hostage Itay Chen, whose body is being held in Gaza, told JNS that “the fact that there is a new administration that will put new thoughts on the table, new thinking, and I think that, by itself, is welcome progress.”
