Gantz: "Delaying the Hostage Deal serves Hamas"

These are the full remarks Benny Gantz, chairman of the National Unity Party, today (Monday), at the opening of the faction meeting:

“The negotiations for the next phase of returning our hostages should have started and concluded long ago. This is a national matter tied to our resilience and national security. Anyone who does business knows that spreading payments over time comes with a cost—and that cost is interest. Israel’s interest is to secure as many hostages as possible, as quickly as possible, in a single phase if feasible. Dividing it into stages and delaying the talks only serves Hamas. They need time to recover, restock their supplies, and recruit operatives. Our interest is to pay the heavy price once, not to stretch it out with ‘Hamas interest.’

The passage of time is bad for the hostages. We managed to bring back 30 living hostages in the last deal, and I commend that. However, we cannot ignore that we’ve lost over 30 living hostages since the previous agreement. Every day puts more living hostages at risk. Time is bad for the IDF, which has withdrawn from the field, with many units on standby instead of in action. Time is bad for the Israeli economy, which is paying a tremendous price for this prolonged war, and dragging it out disrupts the economy’s ability to shift toward growth. Time is bad for Israeli society, which is being torn apart. There’s no other way to explain a reality where we’re neither fighting nor bringing back hostages, except that politics is being prioritized over security and national interests. Instead of putting the hostages first, Netanyahu is prioritizing the coalition and waiting for the budget in March. And we will all pay the price—with interest.

I look at the pictures of President Trump with our hostages with great pride on one hand, for the friend we have in the White House, and with great concern on the other. We are all grateful to the administration and to President Trump, who are truly doing exceptional work. But the State of Israel is the address for Israelis. The Israeli government is responsible for bringing the hostages home. It’s incomprehensible that the American envoy Hochstein says he’s been given a mandate by the administration to leave no stone unturned—to the point of meeting directly with senior Hamas officials—while senior Israeli officials debate whether to send a delegation and how much authority to grant it. Those sitting in tunnels 40 meters deep need to know that the Prime Minister of Israel and the Israeli government are working around the clock.

In such a difficult period, facing such immense challenges, this government is simply tearing Israeli society apart. The American administration is doing everything to bring back the hostages—while this government waits to pass the budget first and halts the war. While our soldiers prepare to resume fighting, draft-dodging is being promoted. They talk about a ‘Riviera in Gaza’ and a ‘war of revival’—while neglecting Kiryat Shmona and Metula. Our people want unity and reconciliation—and the government returns to its regime overhaul and pushes to fire the Attorney General. With Purim approaching, it seems this government is sticking to one custom—everything is upside down.”