Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Minister Benny Gantz addressed the press on Wednesday regarding the deal to release some of the hostages from Hamas captivity.
At the beginning of his words, Netanyahu addressed the families of the hostages: "Since the war began, I have not stopped thinking about them, and I haven't stopped thinking about you, the families. I met with you; I heard from you what you're going through. I heard from you about the ongoing nightmare, about the torturous uncertainty, about the worry that knows no limit. When I meet with you, you press the photos of your loved ones to your chest, your heart. And I and my colleagues look at every picture. These photos are an order to act. We are working constantly to return all of the hostages, including Oron Shaul, Hadar Goldin, Avera Mengistu, and Hisham al-Sayed."
He added, "We fought to improve the deal, I thanked President Biden, who worked with the mediators to obtain an improvement to the deal. The combination of military and diplomatic effort brought it forward, and I believe that it will allow for the release of additional hostages."
Netanyahu emphasized that there is a clear clause in the deal that states that the Red Cross would be allowed to visit the remaining hostages and supply them with medication. "I expect this to be implemented."
"In a brazen military operation, we freed Ori Megidish, but military operations are not always possible. Therefore, we don't wait. We take advantage of every sliver of an opportunity to free the hostages because bringing them home is a holy mission. The IDF and all of the security authorities completely support the deal; they know how to ensure our forces' safety," Netanyahu noted.
According to him, during the ceasefire, the IDF will prepare for the continuation of the war: "The war will continue until we reach our goals. To return our hostages, to eliminate Hamas, and to ensure that on the day after Hamas, a pro-terror entity that educates its children on terrorism and compensates terrorists and their families, will not rule Gaza. Gaza will no longer be a threat to Israel. The bereaved families asked that we continue to the end, and that's what we'll do," he declared.
Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant expressed hope that the deal will be implemented by Hamas as agreed on. "This is a better deal than the one presented to us a week ago. Hamas only understands strength. The more we boost the achievement, the higher the chance is to return the hostages. These are vile and murderous, but they understand might. Every step that the IDF takes improves the chances of bringing home the hostages."
He added: "We are committed to completing the war until it reaches its goals - the elimination of Hamas as a military and governing framework and the return of the hostages.
Gallant remarked to one of the journalists: "You can let (Ismail) Haniyeh and (Khaled) Mashal know that they are living on borrowed time."
Minister Benny Gantz stated: "Yesterday, I made a difficult and correct decision. The decision that is responsible for setting fates and it can save lives. Honestly, it was one of the toughest decisions I've made in my over 40 years of serving the county. And in this war, there will be more decisions like that.
I am convinced from the bottom of my heart that this was the right decision. Our commitment to bringing the daughters and sons home is a combination of the rabbinic saying that 'a doubt does not trump a certainty' and 'whoever saves one soul of Israel, Scripture accounts it as if she had saved a full world.' In my opinion, this decision and the concern for the hostages shows the power of Israeli society," he added.