Israel Netanyahu offers millions for the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip

During a brief visit to the embattled Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered the hostage-takers of the Islamist Hamas five million US dollars (around 4.7 million euros) for the release of each hostage. He also assured them of free passage for them and their families. Anyone who harmed the hostages, however, would pay a "high price", he warned. Under no circumstances would Hamas continue to rule the Gaza Strip in the future, Netanyahu said in a statement from his office.

An earlier offer of this kind had been rejected by the Islamist Hamas as a farce. The hostages would only be released if there was an agreement that would put an end to the war and the blockade and allow the coastal strip to be rebuilt.

Around 100 of the 250 people abducted from Israel during the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023 are still being held in the Gaza Strip, but many of them are no longer believed to be alive. Relatives accuse Netanyahu of preventing an agreement on their release in order to keep the war going and himself in power.

SDA