Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu heckled by hostage families during parliament address
The Hindu
Families of hostages chant "Now! Now!" as Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows to bring them home, but says more time is needed to increase military pressure on Gaza's Hamas rulers.
Families of hostages taken by Gaza militants booed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on December 25 as he addressed parliament, vowing to bring the captives home but saying “more time” was needed.
“Now! Now!” the families chanted from the gallery when Mr. Netanyahu said Israeli forces first needed to increase military pressure on Gaza’s Hamas rulers.
“We wouldn’t be able to secure the release of hostages without military pressure,” he said.
Mr. Netanyahu said he spoke to Israeli field commanders who said they needed “more time” to finish the mission.
“We won’t stop until victory,” Mr.Netanyahu said over the cries of protesters.
Israel says 129 hostages, abducted on October 7 when Hamas gunmen attacked southern Israel, are still held in the Palestinian territory.
“We, my colleagues and I, aren’t sparing any effort,” Netanyahu added, to return “all of our hostages home”.
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