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PALESTINE

Thu 01 May 2025 4:57 pm - Jerusalem Time

Netanyahu: Destroying Hamas is more important than freeing the hostages

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described victory over Hamas as a "more important goal" in the war in the Gaza Strip than the return of the hostages, Israeli media reported Thursday.


The Times of Israel and other media outlets quoted Netanyahu as saying that releasing the kidnapped soldiers is a "very important goal," but there is a higher goal.


"The ultimate goal is to defeat our enemies, and we will achieve that," he said during events celebrating Israel's Independence Day, according to the German News Agency.


Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich previously expressed the same sentiment when he said that returning the hostages from Gaza is not the government's "most important goal."


In an interview with Israel's Radio Galilee last month, the right-wing minister said, "We have to tell the truth. The return of the hostages is not the most important thing," according to The Times of Israel.


He continued: "It is clearly a very important goal, but if we want to destroy Hamas so that there is no other October 7, we have to understand that there cannot be a situation in which Hamas remains in Gaza."


It's worth noting that the hostages' relatives have long accused Netanyahu of endangering the lives of the captives with the military operation to destroy Hamas.


Fifty-eight hostages, out of 251 kidnapped during Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack, are still being held in Gaza, including 34 who the Israeli military has declared dead.

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Netanyahu: Destroying Hamas is more important than freeing the hostages

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