Israeli minister says freeing hostages is ‘not the most important’ goal

Hamas rejected the latest version of the hostage deal, saying it refuses to release additional hostages until Israel agrees to ending the war and withdrawing from Gaza.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sparked controversy in an interview in which he said that bringing home the remaining hostages is “not the most important goal” of the government.

Speaking on Radio Galey Israel, Smotrich said, “While bringing the hostages home is incredibly important, we must be honest and say it’s not the top priority. If the goal is to eliminate Hamas to ensure there’s never another October 7, then Hamas cannot be allowed to continue operating in Gaza.”

The remarks were greeted with outrage from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which said in a statement that “at the very least, the minister is being honest with the public—the government has made a conscious decision to abandon the hostages. Smotrich, history will not forget how you hardened your heart toward your fellow citizens held in captivity and chose to leave them behind.”

Hamas recently rejected a proposal that would call for the release of 10 living hostages in exchange for a 45-day ceasefire. The terror group declared that it would not release additional hostages until Israel committed to ending the war and withdrawing all of its troops from Gaza.

Following Hamas’ rejection of the latest version of a hostage release deal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, “I will not give in to the murderers who carried out the worst massacre since the Holocaust,” referring to the invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, when the terror group murdered 1,200 peopleand took 250 hostages.

“Surrender would put the public at risk. If we meet their demands, everything we’ve worked so hard to achieve would be undone,” Netanyahu said.

“If we agree to stop fighting, we won’t be able to resume the operation in Gaza. These agreements call for a full IDF withdrawal. Were our soldiers injured and killed for nothing? Hamas wants firm guarantees that the fighting won’t continue. They know exactly what they’re doing. I’m fully committed to bringing our hostages home but not by surrendering to Hamas’ terms,” he said.