Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said Hamas could smuggle hostages out of Gaza in tunnels under the Philadelphi Corridor, disputing the position of his defense minister who said that the IDF would be able to return there after the completion of the first part of a hostage release and cease-fire deal.
In an interview on Fox News, Netanyahu criticized Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's position. "To ask Israel to make concessions after this murder is to send a message to Hamas 'murder more hostages you'll get more concessions.' That's the wrong thing to do."
Netanyahu described the 14-kilometer (8.6 miles) strip that runs along the Gaza-Egypt border, as the gateway to Iran. "That presses Hamas, that prevents them from rearming, that prevents Gaza from becoming this Iranian terror enclave again which can threaten our existence," he said. "It's the way to prevent them from smuggling hostages that they keep through the cease-fire into Egypt, into the Sinai where they can disappear and they'll end up in Iran or in Yemen and they're lost forever."
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Netanyahu explains to the country about the importance of the Philadelphi Corridor
(Photo: ABIR SULTAN / POOL / AFP)
When asked what he thinks about the four American hostage families who are pressuring U.S. President Joe Biden to make a deal with Hamas over Israel. Netanyahu responded, "I don't judge the families, they are going through enormous anguish. Some of them went through this horrible anguish of worrying about the fate of their loved ones to grieving about those who were murdered in cold blood. We have a responsibility both to get the hostages out, but also to prevent Gaza from becoming a terror enclave again."
He denied his political interests played a role in his decisions. "I am not interested in my political future, I am interested in my country's future. This war would be over yesterday if Hamas laid down its arms and released all the hostages. I would be over in two seconds. Hamas is refusing to do that. The obstacle to the end of this war is Hamas. The obstacle to the release of hostages is Hamas. The ones who butchered, murdering six people in cold blood, riddling them with bullets and then firing bullets into their heads is Hamas. It's not Israel, it's not me."
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Hostages and Missing Families Forum rally
(Photo: Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
After Netanyahu mistakenly referred to the Hamas massacre in October as the "November 7 massacre," which was the second time in recent days that he gave a wrong date for an event etched into the minds of all Israelis, The Hostages and Missing Families Forum which was critical of Netanyahu's position said: "After the prime minister's interview on Fox News and the press conference, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum would like to remind the prime minister that the massacre happened on October 7 and not on November 7 or October 9."