Captive’s brother refuses flight with Netanyahu, says he ‘intentionally’ delays deal with Hamas

Brother of an Israeli captive turns down offer to fly to Washington with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he is intentionally delaying a deal with Hamas and endangering captive’s lives.

Alon Gat, whose sister Carmel Gat is being held by Hamas resistance fighters in Gaza, told Israeli daily Ynet that Netanyahu is “hindering the progress” to reach a deal with Hamas and “isn’t making any decisions.”

“Netanyahu invited me on the flight and at first I thought it could help, that we would be able to impact things,” Alon said. “I believed that on the flight, he would announce that he was signing the deal. But as the deadline approached, we realized that this wasn’t going to happen, and instead the opposite is true — he is hindering progress and isn’t making any decisions.”

He said that he believes other families currently expected to fly with Netanyahu’s delegation will join him in his decision.

“I couldn’t live with myself knowing that I was traveling with him and that at that time, god forbid, something had happened to Carmel. I know that Netanyahu is taking his time. I don’t know how he lives with it,” he added.

Negotiations held captive

In this episode, we discuss the atmosphere surrounding the negotiations and Netanyahu

According to Israel, 251 Israelis and foreigners were taken captive during the October 7 Hamas-led Operation Al-Aqsa Storm into the occupied territories.

By the end of a six-day truce on November 30 last year, 105 captives had been released by Hamas in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held illegally in Israeli detention facilities.

Hamas says that over 70 of the captives held in Gaza have been killed in indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes against the besieged territory.

In mid-December, the Israeli military killed three captives held by Hamas in Gaza after “mistakenly” identifying them as a threat.

The families of captives have led protests every Saturday night almost since the beginning of the war to put pressure on the regime to strike a deal for the captives’ release.

On Saturday night, thousands of anti-regime protesters gathered in cities across the occupied territories, calling on Netanyahu not to depart for his planned visit to Washington on Sunday for a joint session of Congress until he has first signed a deal with Hamas to facilitate the return of the captives from Gaza.

Protesters are expected to demonstrate at Ben Gurion Airport as Netanyahu departs.

Mati Danzig, the son of captive Alex Danzig, 75, announced at the Tel Aviv rally that if Netanyahu leaves for the US without announcing a deal, a group of captives’ relatives will also travel to Washington and publicly declare that Netanyahu is “the obstacle to a deal.”

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