In a solemn 12-minute address broadcast on Saturday, April 19, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu categorically refused the demands of the families of hostages, echoed in recent days by army reservist groups, to end the war in Gaza and release the 59 hostages, including 24 presumed alive, held by Hamas and its allies.

« I will not give in to the murderers who carried out the worst massacre since the Holocaust, » Netanyahu declared, referring to the 1,218 Israeli deaths on October 7, 2023. The prime minister also reiterated his determination to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons as the second phase of discussions between Washington and Tehran was being held on the same day in Rome. « I am committed to preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. I am not giving up on that, I am not letting go of it, and I am not backing away from it. Not even by a millimeter, » he said.

Netanyahu justified continuing the war in the enclave, where more than 51,000 people, according to Hamas, have been killed by Israeli strikes and gunfire over 18 months, a figure deemed reliable by international organizations. « We are at a critical stage of the campaign, and at this point, we need patience and determination to win, » he insisted, noting he had asked the army to continue the bombings. « I believe we can bring our hostages home without surrendering to Hamas’s dictates, » declared Netanyahu. « Ending the war under these surrender conditions would send a message to all of Israel’s enemies: That abducting Israelis can bring Israel to its knees. It would prove that terrorism pays, » he added.

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