Israeli captives' families accuse Netanyahu of prioritising 'victory' over hostage deal

Israeli media have released a third leaked audio recording featuring Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in conversation with the released captives and the families of those still held in Gaza, where the attendees questioned why the talks that did not center on securing a deal with Hamas.

Israel's Channel 12 aired the recording on Sunday, in which Netanyahu could be heard focussing his rhetoric on defeating Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran. This prompted some of the families denounced the lack of discussion on releasing the captives. 

In the recording, one of the former captives questioned whether the war was being prioritised over their release, to which the Israeli leader responded by suggesting that she "wasn’t listening" closely enough to him.  

Netanyahu then argued to the released captives that the very future of Israel "is in question." 

Probed further on centering discussions on a potential deal, Israeli media described Netanyahu as having begun to appear impatient. 

"We’re only talking about the deal," Netanyahu can be heard saying, before seemingly mocking those who support it.  

"If we make a deal everything will be resolved — Iran will stop, etc., etc.," he says. “That’s crazy. Just delusional. There’s no other word for it."

After the discussion shifted to the hostage deal, one of the released captives criticised the constant emphasis on "victory" over Hamas. 

She said she viewed the real loss had already occurred on 7 October. 

"Let’s bring back the hostages—that’s how we’ll win," she continued.

In response, the Israeli Prime Minister insisted that Israel "did not lose."

Comparing the 7 October attack with the events of the Holocaust, Netanyahu said: "we said it was the worst event since the Holocaust, and it is different from the Holocaust. During the Holocaust, there were 4,500-5,500 [October 7s] every day."

"Here, after they carried out one day of it, we went in and we’re beating those killers." 

Channel 12 also reported that during the meeting, Netanyahu’s hostage envoy, Gal Hirsch, attempted to silence one of the freed hostages when she criticised Netanyahu, saying he "needed to protect us. He missed, he fell asleep on guard".

In response, she retorted, "You’re trying to command me? So I won’t talk?"

At another point in the meeting, the same former captive questioned Netanyahu on why he wasn’t taking responsibility and instead "always turns it into Hamas," which he avoided answering. 

Sunday’s audio release follows two other leaked audio recordings, aired on Friday and Saturday. 

In comments reported by Channel 12 from previous meetings, Netanyahu was heard deflecting demands for Israel to agree to a deal to free the captives by suggesting that no such agreement was currently on the table.  

In response to a captives' relative who insisted that his responsibility was to secure a deal to bring them home, Netanyahu asked, "What are you proposing that I do?"

The relative replied: "I’m proposing that you sign a deal that will bring the hostages home. There’s a deal on the table!"

Netanyahu sharply retorted, "What deal? Which deal? Whoever told you that there was a [ceasefire] deal on the table and that we didn’t take it for this reason or that reason, for personal reasons, it’s just a lie." 

The daughter of an Israeli hostage held in Gaza has since expressed deep concern after meeting with Netanyahu on Friday, stating that a deal to release all the captives might not happen soon.  

"I left with a heavy and difficult feeling that this [ceasefire deal] isn't going to happen soon, and I fear for my father's life, for the girls who are there, and for everyone," Ella Ben Ami said in a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. 

Her father, Ohad Ben Ami, 55, has been held captive in the Gaza Strip since 7 October.  

Ella's mother, Raz Ben Ami, was also kidnapped during the incursion but was later released during a week-long truce in November. 

Ella joined other family members of hostages to meet with Netanyahu to urge him to negotiate a deal that would secure the release of their loved ones. 

The prospects for ending Israel's onslaught on Gaza remain bleak, as mediation efforts by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States have yet to bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas. The two sides have traded accusations over who is responsible for the lack of progress. 

Two Egyptian security sources told news agency Reuters that neither Hamas nor Israel agreed to several proposed compromises during negotiations in Cairo on Sunday. 

Despite this, a senior US official described the discussions as "constructive," noting that all parties were engaged in a sincere effort to reach "a final and implementable agreement." 

Hamas official Osama Hamdan, however, rejected the notion of imminent progress, claiming that the group had not participated in the talks due to Israel's introduction of new conditions.  

Hamdan also dismissed US claims of a forthcoming ceasefire deal as false, suggesting they were politically motivated and aimed at serving electoral interests. 

According to Gaza's health ministry, more than 40,400 Palestinians have been killed in the ongoing conflict.  

The densely populated enclave has been devastated, with most of its 2.3 million residents displaced multiple times and facing severe shortages of food and medicine, as reported by humanitarian agencies.