Direct Criticisms of the Prime Minister
Inbal Albini Peri, daughter of one of the six Israelis whose bodies were returned from Gaza by the Israeli military on Tuesday, has accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of putting “political priorities” above a ceasefire and hostage release deal. In an interview with BBC Radio 4, Peri stated that her 80-year-old father, Chaim, and his friends would have been among the first to be freed under any agreement with Hamas and that they “should have come back alive.”
Netanyahu’s Statements and Family Response
Prime Minister Netanyahu has insisted that he is making every effort to bring back all remaining hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 attack. However, Inbal Peri expressed disbelief in Netanyahu’s statements, saying: “I don’t believe a word he is saying. I want him to say to my family and all the other families: ‘I’m sorry. I was wrong.’”
During the interview, Peri did not explicitly explain what she meant by “political priorities.” Netanyahu’s far-right allies have vowed to withdraw from his coalition if he agrees to release a large number of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in exchange for hostages.
U.S. Criticism and Diplomatic Challenges
On Tuesday evening, a senior U.S. administration official criticized Netanyahu for making what they called “maximalist statements” that were “not constructive” for finalizing a ceasefire deal. This followed reported comments from Netanyahu suggesting he had informed the U.S. Secretary of State that Israeli forces must remain in strategic parts of Gaza, which Hamas rejects.
Israel’s military launched a campaign in Gaza to dismantle Hamas in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and 251 hostages taken. Since then, more than 40,170 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
November Agreement and Current Situation
A deal reached in November led to Hamas releasing 105 hostages in exchange for a week-long ceasefire and the release of about 240 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Israel reports that 105 hostages are still being held, 34 of whom are presumed dead. Chaim Peri lived in Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the 26 communities and towns near the Gaza perimeter fence targeted by Hamas on October 7.
Circumstances of Chaim Peri’s Death
The film lecturer and lifelong peace activist was abducted after he voluntarily left his home’s saferoom to protect his wife, Osnat, who was hiding inside. Inbal Peri’s 34-year-old half-brother, Danny Darlington, was also killed in the attack. In December, Hamas’s military wing released a video showing Peri alongside two other elderly hostages from Nir Oz—Yoram Metzger and Amiram Cooper. In the video, Peri is seen addressing the camera and calling for their release.
In June, the Israeli military informed the family that Peri, Metzger, Cooper, and British-Israeli Nadav Popplewell had been killed during an operation in the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza, based on intelligence gathered.
Recovery of Bodies and Reactions
On Tuesday morning, Inbal Peri was informed that Israeli troops had recovered the bodies of her father and five other hostages—Metzger, Popplewell, Alexander Dancyg, Avraham Munder, and Yagev Buchshtab—from underground tunnels in Khan Younis. “For my family, it’s maybe a small closure. It’s not the right word to say ‘happy’, but for us, it is the end of the way and we are burying our father in the place that he loved so much,” she said.
Peri also expressed concern that other hostages may still be alive and that the chances of their return are decreasing. She believes that her father and his friends should have come home alive as part of a new hostage release deal, which the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt were trying to broker before her father was thought to have died and continue to attempt now.
Call for Negotiations and Government Criticism
Peri criticized the lack of progress in negotiations and the government’s decision to continue fighting instead of negotiating. “I’m not saying that we could really stop the war, but we had to do the negotiations instead of keeping on fighting. We have seen for over 10 months that it’s not working.”
When asked if she had addressed these issues directly with Netanyahu or other members of his government, Peri responded that many members of the government had tried to help, but that, according to her, “when the head is wrong, it doesn’t matter.”
She added: “We want our government and our prime minister to move forward and reach a deal, to have something to talk about, instead of repeatedly risking our soldiers to bring back bodies. We don’t want any more soldiers to be killed.”
Netanyahu’s Statement
On Tuesday night, Netanyahu’s office stated that he had told hostage families in Jerusalem that “the first thing is to eliminate Hamas and achieve victory.” “The second thing is that, at the same time, we are making an effort to return the hostages, on terms that will allow for the maximum number of hostages being released in the first stage of the deal. I say this clearly: This is an objective that I have set,” he added.
“However, the other thing is to preserve our strategic security assets in the face of major domestic and foreign pressure, and we are doing so.”
