Netanyahu: Hamas agreed to hostage deal only when “sword was on its neck”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Hamas agreed to the Gaza settlement and hostage release deal only when it felt “the sword around its neck.”

Speaking in a nationwide address broadcast on Israel’s main TV channels, Netanyahu said, “Hamas agreed to the deal only when it felt the sword around its neck. And it is still on it.”

He added that the Palestinian group accepted the agreement following US President Donald Trump’s plan, which he discussed with Trump in Washington, noting that it “isolated [Hamas] internationally in an unprecedented way.” Netanyahu emphasised that Israel is currently focused on the release of hostages.

On the night of October 10, the Israeli government approved a deal to free all hostages held by Hamas, both alive and deceased. Under the agreement, after the Israel Defence Forces withdraw to newly designated lines within Gaza, Hamas will have 72 hours to release the captives.

In exchange for the remaining 48 hostages taken during the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, Israel is expected to release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Of the hostages, about 20 are believed to still be alive.

This coordinated operation, combining the release of hostages with a partial Israeli troop withdrawal, represents the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan to resolve the Gaza conflict. On the night of October 9, Trump confirmed that Israeli authorities and Hamas had agreed to implement the initial phase of the US-proposed plan.

By Tamilla Hasanova