Comment: Buried in the following Israeli media report, we find the actual motive for Israel to drone-strike Hamas deputy Saleh al-Aouri in Beirut earlier this week...
During the meeting, news broke of the death of Hamas's deputy leader abroad Saleh al-Arouri in an alleged Israeli airstrike in Beirut, the Walla news site reported, but the representatives of the hostages' families did not have their phones on them, and the matter's potential impact on negotiations with the terror group was not raised.
In the meeting at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu reportedly stressed the importance of returning the captives, claiming that talks on the matter were ongoing. Hamas was said to freeze the talks following Arouri's killing.
Netanyahu told them that "Hamas eased its ultimatums," though, according to leaks from the meeting, one of the hostages' relatives noted that according to their information, talks had already been halted.
"We aren't giving up on anybody. With us, there aren't categories. We have to bring everyone back alive and we are fighting a monstrous enemy," Netanyahu said, according to reports, adding that military pressure in Gaza was helping the process.
There is talk of the "possibility" of exiling Hamas's leadership, including Gaza's ruler, Yahya Sinwar, and the head of the Izz ad-Dine al-Qassam Brigades, Muhammad Deif, he reportedly said, adding that Israel was "considering making public an Israeli outline for a deal."
Israel declared Hamas's leaders "walking dead men" following Hamas's October 7 massacre, but has yet to reach the terror group's most senior officials in Gaza, who are believed to be sheltering inside the vast network of tunnels in the enclave and may be holding hostages alongside them.
Netanyahu's claims of Hamas having softened its position came amid mixed reports on the matter. An unsourced Channel 12 report Monday said Sinwar had eased his terms for a deal, withdrawing his demand for a permanent ceasefire. Earlier, a Hamas source told the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news outlet that the terror group would not agree to release the hostages held in Gaza before there is a complete cessation of fighting.
However, in the wake of Arouri's killing Tuesday, indirect talks between Israel and Hamas on the release of hostages have been halted, and diplomatic efforts are now focused on preventing an escalation on the northern border, Arab diplomats involved in the negotiations told Haaretz.
The unnamed sources said that a question that will impact the continuation of talks is whether Arouri's assassination will make Israel more flexible and open to the possibility of a longer truce.
Based in Lebanon, Arouri, 57, was one of the founders of Hamas's military wing, deputy head of the terror group's political bureau, and considered the de facto leader of the military wing in the West Bank, though he has long resided elsewhere. He was regarded as the most notorious Hamas figure in orchestrating West Bank terrorism against Israel.
Arouri was instrumental in negotiations for the release of 105 civilians from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in November. In early December, he said in an interview with Al Jazeera that negotiations with Israel for further releases of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners had halted and that there would be no further exchanges until Israel ended its war in Gaza.
It is believed that 129 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive. Four hostages were released prior to that, and one was rescued by troops. The bodies of eight hostages have also been recovered and three hostages were mistakenly killed by the military. The IDF has confirmed the deaths of 23 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.
Over 240 hostages were taken on October 7, when Hamas-led terrorists burst across the border and rampaged across southern communities, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015, respectively, as well as the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014.
Comment: Netanyahu's words are exposed by this deed. The Israeli regime is condemning the remaining hostages to the same fate as Gazans. They don't want hostage releases because those slow down the operation to expel all Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, and allow space in which media can enter the killing zone and document the atrocities.