Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid the asking price for Itamar Ben-Gvir’s return to the government in advance. Not out of his own pocket, of course, but with the blood of the 59 hostages whose fate could be sealed by the resumption of the war, which has already sealed the fate of hundreds of Palestinians, including women and children.

On Tuesday, Eliya Cohen, who was freed from Hamas captivity, called the renewed warfare a “death sentence” for the hostages. But that interests the prime minister less than his reward in the form of the homecoming of Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party.

According to the statement released by Netanyahu’s office, the decision to strike Gaza was made with Defence Minister Israel Katz after “Hamas’ repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all the proposals it has received from US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators”.

But it must be said, loudly and clearly, that this is a lie. It was Israel, not Hamas, that violated the agreement. On its 16th day, the parties were supposed to begin discussing the second phase, which was supposed to end with the release of all the remaining hostages. Israel refused.

Israel also broke its promise to withdraw from the Philadelphi corridor between the 42nd and the 50th day of the ceasefire. Moreover, Israel announced it was halting the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and closing the border crossings. This decision, like the energy minister’s decision to halt the limited amount of electricity Israel provides to Gaza, explicitly violates Israel’s commitment in the agreement that aid will continue entering as long as talks on the second stage are ongoing.

All the proposals that Hamas received from Witkoff stem from Israel’s refusal to uphold its part of the deal. Consequently, the attempt to portray Hamas’ rejection of Witkoff’s proposals as a reason to resume the fighting is nothing but a dishonest manipulation.

Israel — not Hamas — is the one preventing the deal’s implementation and the hostages’ return. The statement issued by Netanyahu’s office also said the goal of the renewed attack on Gaza is “to achieve the objectives of the war as they have been determined by the political echelon, including the release of all of our hostages, the living and the deceased”.

That’s another lie. Military pressure endangers the hostages, and of course also the lives of Israeli soldiers and Gaza residents, while also destroying what remains of the territory.

Netanyahu abandoned the hostages to save his government. The outcry, from the hostages’ families and hostages who have returned, interests neither him nor the members of his governing coalition. For them, the main thing is the approval of the state budget. Or as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told Ayala Metzger, whose father-in-law Yoram Metzger was abducted on 7 October 2023 and killed in Hamas captivity, “We heard you. Now get out. Thank you very much.”

A demonstration by most of the anti-government protest organisations is planned to take place in Jerusalem on Wednesday. The public must join the hostages’ families and demand a resumption of the ceasefire and the signing and implementation of the second stage of the deal. The hostages’ lives are in growing danger. We must save them.

The above article is Haaretz‘s lead editorial, as published in the Hebrew and English newspapers in Israel.

Republished from Haaretz, 19 March 2025

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