Israel expects the release of the 48 hostages held by Hamas as early as next week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday evening.
Israel hopes that “already during the Sukkot holiday, we can announce the return of all the hostages, with the IDF remaining in the depths of the Gaza Strip in various areas,” Netanyahu said in a televised address, speaking in the wake of Hamas’s response to the U.S. peace plan.
Sukkot, or the “Feast of Tabernacles,” is a weeklong Jewish holiday that this year runs from sunset on Monday, Oct. 6, to nightfall on Monday, Oct. 13 (Oct. 14 outside of Israel). “I instructed our negotiation team, headed by [Strategic Affairs Minister] Ron Dermer, to finalize the technical details of the hostage release,” said the prime minister. “Our intention, as well that of as of our American friends, is to limit this to a few days.”
Noting that his government already freed 207 of the captives abducted by the terrorists, Netanyahu said the diplomatic and military pressure, primarily through the Israel Defense Forces’ campaign in Gaza City, “flipped the script” on Hamas. “Rather than Israel being isolated, Hamas is isolated. Following intense pressure on Hamas, they were forced to accept this deal,” he said. (Read More)
