Captives’ Families Accuse Bibi of Criminal Negligence As He Vowed Not To Leave Philadelphi

By Staff, Agencies

Defending himself against charges of blocking a captive deal on Monday evening, “Israeli” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued forcefully for what he said was the “strategic imperative” to keep “Israeli” troops stationed along the so-called Philadelphi Corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt.

Speaking with reporters during a rare press conference in Occupied Al-Quds, Netanyahu insisted that the 14-kilometer [8.7 miles] strip of land is essential for “Israel” to achieve its war aims.

“Were the 'IDF’ to withdraw even for the 42-day first phase of a deal, in an effort to secure the release of numerous living hostages, it would never be able to return,” he claimed, and thus Hamas would be able to rearm, revive, and carry out many more October 7 operations.

Bibi further mentioned that “We didn’t manage to extricate them. We were very close. It’s terrible. But it didn’t happen because of that decision [on the Philadelphi Corridor. It happened, first, because they [Hamas] don’t want a deal look for every means… to get them home.”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid castigated his comments as baseless political spin designed to keep his coalition together. Lapid noted that Netanyahu had years to retake Philadelphi and didn’t bother, and only sent the army to do so eight months into the current war.

The terrible truth about Netanyahu’s stated position, said Lapid, was that “he will not make a deal. He won’t bring our children home.” Lapid called on the “more responsible” people in Netanyahu’s coalition to give him an ultimatum: “You can tell him, if there is no deal, there’s no government.”

The captives’ Families Forum vowed to step up the “struggle to return the captives” and accused the prime minister of “criminal negligence.”

Early in his prepared remarks, Netanyahu declared that “Israel’s” war goals are “to destroy Hamas, to bring back all of our hostages, to ensure that Gaza will no longer present a threat to ‘Israel’, and to safely return the ‘residents’ of the northern border,” and asserted that “three of those war goals go through one place: the Philadelphi Corridor. That is Hamas’s