Netanyahu calls defeating Israel’s enemies the ‘supreme objective,’ not freeing hostages

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that defeating Israel’s enemies is more important than securing the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that defeating Israel’s enemies is more important than securing the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza. While the prime minister acknowledged that freeing the 59 remaining hostages is a “very important goal,” he described Israel’s fight against its enemies as the “supreme objective” of the war. “We have many objectives, many goals in this war. We want to bring back all of our hostages,” Netanyahu said. “That is a very important goal. In war, there is a supreme objective. And that supreme objective is victory over our enemies. And that is what we will achieve.” Netanyahu’s remarks, which came on Israel’s Independence Day, mark the first time that the prime minister has explicitly described returning the hostages as a secondary goal of the war. He has previously described defeating Hamas and securing the release of the hostages as the primary goals of Israel’s war in Gaza. His comments drew a backlash from representatives of hostage families. “Prime minister, the return of the hostages is not ‘less’ important – it is the supreme goal that should guide the government of Israel,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement. “The families of the hostages are concerned.”