'Israeli' protesters hold signs and photos of captives during a rally calling for their release in Tel Aviv on February 3, 2015. Photo: Getty Images.
The forum representing the families of Israeli captives, who are being held by resistance fighters in the Gaza Strip, has blasted the cabinet of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for choosing to occupy more territory over releasing captives.
The group made the criticism on Wednesday after Israeli minister of military affairs Israel Katz outlined the regime’s policy on the battlefield.
He said in a statement that the occupation troops will remain in the so-called security zones in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria for an indefinite period, unlike in the past, when the soldiers evacuated the seized areas.
The Tel Aviv regime “is choosing to seize territory over hostages,” the captive families’ forum said. “The time has come to stop the false promises and slogans. It is impossible to continue the war and at the same time release all the hostages.”
It further emphasized that the only way to free the captives was an agreement that releases them all in one go, in exchange for a permanent ceasefire to Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
Israel launched its deadly bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, after the Hamas resistance group carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
In its operation, Hamas took 251 Israelis captive, 58 of whom now remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the occupation’s military. Several of the captives have been killed in the regime’s strikes on the blockaded territory.
After one and a half years of war, the Tel Aviv regime has failed to achieve its declared objectives of eliminating Hamas and freeing captives, despite killing over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
Also in his statement, Katz said Israel is using “overwhelming force from air, land, and sea” to “soften the terrain” for ground forces, noting that “tens of percent” of the Gaza Strip has already been added to the so-called security zones in the besieged territory.
Israel has ramped up military pressure on Hamas to agree to a deal and if the resistance group rejects the regime’s terms, attacks on Gaza will expand further, he warned.
Meanwhile, the minister said Israel would eventually allow the resumption of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, but only through “civilian companies,” sparking criticisms among extremist members of Netanyahu’s cabinet.
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Responding to the backlash, he released a second statement and said that he had been referring to the more distant future.
“Israel’s policy is clear and no humanitarian aid is about to enter Gaza. In the current reality, no one is going to bring any humanitarian aid into Gaza, and no one is preparing to bring in any such aid,” he pointed out.
Israel launched its deadly bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, after Hamas carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
(PressTV)
