Netanyahu is 'planning to expand the conflict in Gaza to bring home hostages', diplomatic source says after Hamas shares images of emaciated hostages amid 'starvation' row
A diplomatic source quoted in Hebrew media on Sunday revealed the Israeli Prime Minister is 'pushing for the release of the hostages through decisive military victory, combined with the entry of humanitarian aid to areas outside the combat zone, and, as much as possible, outside of Hamas control'.
The comments came as distraught families of the captives unleashed a furious backlash over reports the government is considering expanding its military offensive in the Gaza Strip - a move critics say could endanger those still in Hamas captivity.
Netanyahu himself appeared visibly shaken in a video statement after harrowing footage emerged of two hostages, Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski, both looking skeletal and pale in what appeared to be an underground tunnel.
David, digging what he believed to be his own grave was heard begging for his life.
But the Israeli leader said the shocking videos only hardened his resolve. 'I understand exactly what Hamas wants, it doesn't want a deal. It wants to break us - with these horrifying videos, with the false horror propaganda it spreads across the world,' he said in a clip released by his office.
The comments come as Washington, according to US envoy Steve Witkoff, is shifting its focus from temporary hostage-for-ceasefire deals to a broader goal of ending the war altogether.
This leaves Israel with the stark choice of intensifying the fighting or allowing more time for negotiations.
Amid the chaos, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum - representing the families of the 50 hostages still believed to be alive - accused Netanyahu of 'leading Israel and the hostages to the abyss'.
The Forum said the prime minister 'is preparing the greatest scam,' and that any talk about releasing the hostages through decisive victory is 'a fraud'.
'For 22 months now the public has been sold the illusion that military pressure and intense fighting will bring the hostages back,' said the group.
'Even before the draft for a comprehensive deal was written, we're being told there is no feasibility for a deal.'
The group stressed that expanding the way endanger the lives of hostages who are at risk of imminent death.
'We saw the chilling images of the hostages in the tunnels, they won't survive more long days of horror,' it said, adding that expanding the Gaza war 'is a guarantee of the failure of the century.'
'There is no victory nor any revival in it,' the Forum concluded.
Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is being held hostage in Gaza, said that 'the political leadership has decided to carry out the 'final solution' on my son Matan and 49 other hostages.'
'For 667 days, the hostages have been enduring a Holocaust in the tunnels, and instead of reaching a full agreement to end the war... Netanyahu is preparing an operation to turn the living hostages into corpses and to erase the fallen,' she added.
Israeli security officials have privately acknowledged that they have long known the captives were being starved - reportedly by deliberate order of their captors.
Sources familiar with the issue were cited by the Ynet news site as saying: 'The visual was still devastating, but it's not something we didn't know.'
Braslavski and David are among just 20 hostages still believed to be alive. At last 28 others are confirmed dead, their bodies still held by terror groups, while the fate of two more remains uncertain.
Cabinet ministers are deeply split by the decision to expand the bloody war.
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Military Secretary Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman and Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs are reportedly in favour of expanding the war.
But IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, Mossad chief David Barnea and other top security officials are warning against the move, citing the hostages' dire conditions.
Netanyahu, however, has shown no signs of backing down, declaring: 'We will not break. I am filled with even greater determination to free our captive sons, to eliminate Hamas, and to ensure that Gaza will never again pose a threat to Israel.'
It comes after Hamas said Sunday it was prepared to coordinate with the Red Cross to deliver aid to hostages it holds in Gaza, if Israel meets certain conditions, following the release of the emaciated hostage video.
Hamas said any coordination with the Red Cross is contingent upon Israel permanently opening humanitarian corridors and halting airstrikes during the distribution of aid.
The video of David drew criticism from Western powers and horrified Israelis. France, Germany, the UK and the US were among countries to express outrage and Israel's foreign ministry announced that the UN Security Council will hold a special session on Tuesday morning on the issue of the situation of the hostages in Gaza.
Netanyahu said on Sunday he had asked the Red Cross to give humanitarian assistance to the hostages during a conversation with the head of the Swiss-based ICRC's local delegation.
The premier's office said he spoke to the ICRC coordinator for the region, Julien Lerisson, and 'requested his involvement in providing food to our hostages and... immediate medical treatment'.
The ICRC said in a statement it was 'appalled by the harrowing videos' and reiterated its 'call to be granted access to the hostages'.
In response, Hamas's armed wing said it would allow the agency access to the hostages but only if 'humanitarian corridors' for food and aid were opened 'across all areas of the Gaza Strip'.
The Al-Qassam Brigades said it did 'not intentionally starve' the hostages, but they would not receive any special food privileges 'amid the crime of starvation and siege' in Gaza.
The Hostages Families Forum over the weekend said Hamas' comments about the hostages cannot hide that it 'has been holding innocent people in impossible conditions for over 660 days,' and demanded their immediate release.
'Until their release,' said the statement, 'Hamas has the obligation to provide them with everything they need. Hamas kidnapped them and they must care for them. Every hostage who dies will be on Hamas's hands.'
Six more people died of starvation or malnutrition in Gaza over the past 24 hours, its health ministry said on Sunday as Israel said it allowed a delivery of fuel to the enclave, in the throes of a humanitarian disaster after almost two years of war.
The new deaths raised the toll of those dying from what international humanitarian agencies say may be an unfolding famine to 175, including 93 children, since the war began, the ministry said.
Egypt's state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV said two trucks carrying 107 tons of diesel were set to enter Gaza, months after Israel severely restricted aid access to the enclave before easing it somewhat as starvation began to spread.
COGAT, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid, said later in the day that four tankers of UN fuel had entered to help in operations of hospitals, bakeries, public kitchens and other essential services.
There was no immediate confirmation whether the two diesel fuel trucks had entered Gaza from Egypt.
Fuel shipments have been rare since March, when Israel restricted the flow of aid into the enclave in what it said was pressure on Hamas militants to free the remaining hostages they took in their October 2023 attack on Israel.
Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza but, in response to a rising international uproar, it announced steps last week to let more aid reach the population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, approving air drops and announcing protected routes for aid convoys.
UN agencies say airdrops are insufficient and that Israel must let in far more aid by land and open up access to the territory to prevent starvation among its 2.2million people, most of whom are displaced amidst vast swathes of rubble.
COGAT said that during the past week over 23,000 tons of humanitarian aid in 1,200 trucks had entered Gaza but that hundreds of the trucks had yet to be driven to aid distribution hubs by UN and other international organisations.
Meanwhile, Belgium's air force dropped the first in a series of its aid packages into Gaza on Sunday in a joint operation with Jordan, the Belgian defence ministry said.
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