Amid the acceleration of contacts between Israel and Hamas, the Hope Forum, which brings together families of hostages, held a press conference near the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv this evening and called not to carry out a partial deal. Among the attendees was Riki Baruch, the sister-in-law of Uriel Baruch, who was murdered on October 7 and abducted to the Gaza Strip.
In an interview with Srugim, Riki clarifies her opposition to the deal in its current framework. "We at the Hope Forum understand from the little information we have received that this deal is going to be in stages. This is something that has been avoided until now, and we have warned that a staged deal will not bring all the hostages home. In the best case, it will bring 30 hostages, some of whom are dead and some alive, and we will leave the rest behind without any deterrent capability against Hamas," she noted.
According to her: "We oppose a staged deal, we want a deal that includes everyone in one go with a list that Hamas provides, detailing who is alive and who, unfortunately, is not, and when they will arrive and how. We expect the Israeli government to do this in a responsible and clear manner that does not leave any hostage behind. Every hostage is as important to their family as the previous one."
"If Hamas is not deterred enough – stop the humanitarian aid"
We are marking a year since the last deal, and since then no hostage has been released through negotiations, only through military operations. Hamas has instructed the militants to kill the hostages if an IDF force arrives. Isn't it better to release whoever can be released right now?
"I am very much in favor of a release, the problem is that right now Hamas is deterred as the senior military officials and the Prime Minister say, and we have momentum for a deal, and I believe that the momentum will not come again. If Israel withdraws from the Strip and releases all the pressure points, we will be left in a situation where hostages will be left behind, and we must not allow that to happen. We must not."
"We have reached a point where Hamas is deterred, and we need to take advantage of the momentum to the fullest. If they are not deterred enough, we need to continue applying all existing pressure points. Whether it's halting humanitarian aid, annexing territories to the State of Israel, anything that will make Hamas understand that holding the captives is not beneficial for them. We need to act now while Hamas is deterred and make them understand that it is not worth it to continue this and to make a deal that includes everyone."
Why doesn't Netanyahu take control of the humanitarian aid? After all, it's Hamas's lifeline.
"According to what we understand, there is a lot of pressure from the American side despite the restrictions in international law regarding humanitarian aid. There are essential items that need to be brought in during wartime, and we are bringing in much more than that. I would expect the Prime Minister at the very least to bring in what we are obligated to under the law and not more than that. Yes, to at least apply the minimal pressure that they do not receive cigarettes, coffee, sweets, or cookies, but the minimum possible to bring in what we are obligated to and not more."
"We haven't received any information regarding the existing deal."
Has Netanyahu spoken with you since the acceleration of the talks?
"No, we spoke with him recently over two, three weeks ago when there was still no talk of a concrete deal, and since then we don't know where it's progressing. We haven't received any information regarding the existing deal, and we are very concerned that the deal, as we understood it was going to happen, is not being handled by sufficiently senior officials. We hope Netanyahu will make the right decision and create a deal that is right for everyone."
According to Riki: "We have a hundred hostages, families, women, children, fathers, and children waiting for their loved ones at home. No one is more important than the other; they are all humanitarian cases, including the murdered, their families are in a difficult humanitarian situation, and everyone needs to return without exception."
What did you hear from Netanyahu two weeks ago?
"We didn't hear anything new, unfortunately. He is doing everything possible, the pressure is on, and he really hopes we reach a deal. Of course, we have given our terms that we hope will be included in the deal. There was nothing new that he told us."
