Hostage's father: 'It's a living nightmare. And if Netanyahu doesn't get this done, there will be more bodies'

Haaretz Podcast

If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "ever had a moral compass, he lost it long ago," said Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of Israeli hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen on the Haaretz Podcast. The six hostages brutally murdered by Hamas after surviving eleven months of captivity "should not have been allowed to die" by their country's leadership, he added.

"My heart breaks for their families," said Dekel-Chen, describing the news as "part of the living nightmare we've been in since October 7."

The government's "abominable handling" of the hostage crisis, he continued, "has taken Israeli society to a place that it's never been, and the only hope for recovery is if the prime minister is able to grow a moral backbone strong enough to bear the weight of his own coalition partners."

The fact that U.S. President Joe Biden offered his condolences to the families before Netanyahu "should demonstrate not just to all Israelis, but sadly to Jews in the diaspora as well, that our government and our prime minister are in a state of utter moral corruption."

Also on the podcast, Haaretz senior defense analyst Amos Harel discussed how the killings of the hostages has made it clear to the Israeli public that Netanyahu's "cliche about military pressure being the only way to move and to allow hostages to be freed is wrong. It may have been the case in the beginning that there was some leeway that we could push through military pressure. But now Hamas knows exactly what's happening, and has decided to kill hostages rather than to allow them to be freed by Israeli soldiers.

"The outcome is clear to everybody: If in these operations, especially tunnels, we lose the element of surprise, there's a good chance more hostages will die under similar circumstances."

Netanyahu's response to the massive public outcry Sunday has brought Harel to the conclusion that the leader, who usually appears to feel in control, is now in a "tight spot."

While Harel remains pessimistic that Netanyahu has been shaken enough to change his policies, "I think that for the first time in months, he's really fearing the outcome of the public outcry."

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