Netanyahu: Hostage videos prove Hamas is trying to break Israel, not make a deal

Netanyahu observed that while the hostages are “wasting away in a dungeon … the Hamas monsters surrounding them — they have thick, fleshy arms.”

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the latest propaganda videos showing two emaciated Israeli hostages in Gaza prove that Hamas has no interest in a release deal, vowing the footage has only strengthened his determination to “eliminate” the terror group.

In a video statement after viewing the clips of hostages Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David, Netanyahu said: “I understand exactly what Hamas wants. It doesn’t want a deal. It wants to break us — with these horrifying videos, with the false horror propaganda it spreads across the world.”

The prime minister said he was “shocked” by “the horrifying videos” and had spoken with the hostages’ families.

He contrasted their condition with that of their captors, saying that while the hostages are “wasting away in a dungeon … the Hamas monsters surrounding them — they have thick, fleshy arms. They have everything they need to eat. They are starving them the way the Nazis starved the Jews.”

“But we will not break,” Netanyahu continued. “I am filled with even greater determination to free our captive sons, to eliminate Hamas, and to ensure that Gaza will never again pose a threat to Israel.”

His comments came as Hamas issued a fresh rejection of any disarmament proposal, insisting it would  consider laying down its weapons once an “independent and fully sovereign Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital,” is established.

The statement was a direct rebuttal to recent media reports citing US special envoy Steve Witkoff as saying the group was open to giving up its arsenal.

Hamas dismissed those claims as false and politically motivated, calling Witkoff’s recent visit to Gaza aid centers “staged” and accusing Washington of trying to “mislead public opinion, whitewash Israel’s actions, and provide political cover” for what the terror group describes as a “systematic campaign of starvation and civilian casualties.”

Israel has consistently rejected any arrangement that would allow Hamas to remain armed or in power and has made it clear that it will not recognize a Palestinian state under such conditions.

Israeli officials say Hamas’s own actions — including the October 7, 2023 massacre that killed 1,200 people and the continued holding of hostages — prove it remains committed to Israel’s destruction, not peace.