United Torah Judaism chairman and Minister of Construction and Housing, Yitzhak Goldknopf, met on Thursday with representatives of hostage families - Ohel, Hayman, and Chen - and with former hostage Sasha Troufanov.
During the meeting, Minister Goldknopf emphasized his support for advancing a deal to release the hostages. "As I have proven to this day, not only in words but also in actions, I will support any deal brought to the government table that will lead to the release of our abducted sons and daughters."
Goldknopf shared that "I met and spoke with survivors of captivity who returned from the tunnels of the Hamas murderers, and I heard horrifying stories."
Amid political tensions between United Torah Judaism and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the failure to advance the Draft Law to the satisfaction of the haredi parties, the Housing Minister subtly criticized the Prime Minister by referencing contradictory statements from him, his wife, and the US President regarding the number of living hostages.
"I am not in the Cabinet like other ministers, and it troubles me that the discussion revolves around numbers—first 24, then 21—as if these are not human lives. The important number is 59 hostages who need to return home to their families, and the dead who need a proper Jewish burial," he said.
Commenting on the public debate over the objectives of the war, the Minister highlighted the halakhic perspective, asserting that releasing the hostages is the war’s ultimate goal.
"I saw there is a debate about the war’s ultimate goal. Jewish law establishes that the value of redeeming captives and preserving life is supreme, even overriding Shabbat," he clarified.
"Just as Israel cannot live with Hamas on its border, it cannot live with its citizens and soldiers held beyond its border in the tunnels of murderers," concluded Goldknopf.