Israeli officials racked their brains Tuesday over how to respond to Hamas’ latest violation after the terror organization returned the remains of hostage Ofir Tzarfati, who was not among the 13 fallen hostages still held in Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an urgent meeting Tuesday afternoon after his testimony in court was cut short due to security developments.
Video: IDF forces delineating Yellow Line / Credit: IDF
Israel is examining a series of punishment measures against Hamas for repeated agreement violations. Some of the sanctions under consideration include moving the yellow line westward, meaning expanding Israeli-controlled territory; re-entering the Netzarim Corridor to restrict Palestinian movement; reducing aid convoys and limiting entry of goods; and continuing the closure of the Rafah crossing.
A first penalty step was already decided when Hamas operatives were banned from working with the Red Cross in Israeli-controlled areas. The move was approved earlier this week to locate fallen hostages.
Netanyahu already faces pressure from cabinet members, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, to “let all hell break loose.” Smotrich sent a letter to the prime minister stating, “I intend to demand that the prime minister order the IDF to immediately rearrest all the terrorists released to the West Bank in the hostage deal in response to Hamas’s repeated violations.”
Ben-Gvir wrote on X, “The fact that Hamas continues playing games and not immediately transferring all our fallen soldiers’ bodies proves the terror organization still stands on its feet. The time has come to break those legs once and for all. Now we don’t need to ‘extract a price from Hamas’ for the violations. We need to extract its very existence from it and destroy it completely – in accordance with the central objective defined for the war of revival. Mr. Prime Minister, enough hesitation – give the order!”
Netanyahu and Red Cross officials against the backdrop of Gaza (REUTERS/Ramadan Abed; IDF; Marc Israel Sellem) Marc Israel Sellem;
Another person who called on Netanyahu to respond forcefully was his main electoral rival and former prime minister, Naftali Bennett. “Not ‘we’ll settle accounts’ and not ‘painful response.’ Hamas is cancer. Hamas must be destroyed,” Bennett wrote.
“Not Learning from Mistakes”
The family of fallen hostage Hadar Goldin responded, “Hamas continues the psychological terror as in all 4,107 days they have held him, except this time Hamas made a mistake from which there will be no way back – this is an act of terror that Hamas is now doing personally and deliberately against US President Donald Trump. We are confident President Trump will respond uncompromisingly, especially in light of the ultimatum he set for the terror organization Hamas. Not only did Hamas not meet its commitment but also in its attempt to humiliate the most powerful man in the world.”
Locals gather to watch as an excavator works at the site where members of the Al-Qassam Brigades are searching for bodies (EPA/HAITHAM IMAD)
“We call on Prime Minister Netanyahu to act according to his commitments, which were guaranteed by all the mediators, including Emir of Qatar Mohammed bin Thani, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Once again, the State of Israel, as has been its pattern for the past 11 years, does not learn from systematic past mistakes, ‘pays in advance’ to the terror organization Hamas for all its demands despite Hamas violating the agreement already in the first stage – to transfer all information on the location of the fallen soldiers, with all necessary efforts to find and return all the fallen.”
“The family and the entire public will continue the uncompromising struggle to return to Israel’s soil the heroic soldier Lt. Hadar Goldin. We call on the people of Israel to take to the streets and not give up until the return of the last fallen soldier immediately!”
