Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu offers $5m reward for freed Gaza hostages | Israel-Palestine Conflicts News

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu is offering a large cash reward and safe passage out of war-torn Gaza as a way to free Israeli hostages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that a $5m reward will be offered for each prisoner freed in Gaza and that those who help free Israelis held by Hamas will be given a way out of the war-torn Palestinian territory.

Netanyahu announced the award during a brief visit to Gaza on Tuesday where he was shown the Israeli military’s Netzarim Corridor – a key road and buffer zone built by the Israeli military to separate northern Gaza from the southern part.

“To those who want to leave this event, I say: Whoever brings us a hostage, he will find a safe way for himself and his family. We will also give $5m to all hostages,” Netanyahu said during a brief visit to the Palestinian territories.

“The choice is yours but the result will be the same: We will bring them all back,” he said.

Israel estimates that 101 hostages remain in Gaza, although about a third of that number are now believed to be dead.

Netanyahu’s award comes as large-scale protests continue in Israel by families of hostages and their supporters demanding the prime minister reach a ceasefire deal with Hamas that would allow their loved ones to be freed.

Netanyahu has repeatedly said that military elections are the only way to free all hostages and Israel’s war in Gaza will continue until that goal is achieved.

The families of the hostages have accused the Netanyahu government of not doing enough to reach a deal to end the conflict while a former aide to Netanyahu has been jailed for allegedly leaking classified material to foreign media in an apparent attempt to end the truce with Hamas.

Analysts say Netanyahu has been trying to end the fighting in Gaza as it could lead to the collapse of his right-wing and ultranationalist government and the launch of an official investigation into the security failures of Netanyahu and other Israeli officials before the Hamas attack on October 7. Netanyahu is also being investigated for corruption.

Hamas has long accused Israel’s cease-fire negotiators of not being sincere in reaching a cease-fire agreement in Gaza.

Describing the Israeli military as “doing a good job” in Gaza, Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Hamas would not return to rule the Palestinian territory.

“Here, in the middle of the Gaza Strip and in the entire Gaza Strip, they got very good results,” Netanyahu said, according to a statement issued by his office.

“And the best is yet to come. Hamas will no longer exist in Gaza,” he said.

Last week, a special UN committee investigating Israel’s war in Gaza said Israel’s policies showed signs of genocide and accused the country of “using hunger as a means of warfare” against Palestinian civilians in the area.

Israel has inflicted “numerous casualties and life-threatening conditions” on Palestinians, the committee said.

“Since the start of the war, Israeli officials have publicly supported policies that deprive the Palestinian people of the very necessities needed to improve life – food, water and fuel.”

Israel’s war in this area has killed approximately 44,000 Palestinians and injured more than 104,000.

Leaders of the Group of 20 major economies meeting in Rio de Janeiro also called for a “comprehensive” ceasefire in Gaza on Monday.

In a statement, the leaders expressed “grave concern over the dire humanitarian situation” in Gaza and concern over “the escalation in Lebanon”, calling for an end to the conflict to allow “citizens to return safely to their homes” in southern and northern Lebanon. Israel.