Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought forgiveness from the families of the six hostages recently killed in Gaza as he faces mounting criticism over not reaching an agreement with Hamas to secure the release of the remaining hostages.
“I told the families, and I repeat and say this evening: I am asking for your forgiveness that we didn’t manage to bring them back alive. We were very close, but we couldn’t make it,” Netanyahu said during a Monday press conference, per a CNN translation.
The Israeli leader said the country will not “ignore this massacre,” vowing Hamas “will pay a heavy price” for the deaths.
“We’re going to exact a heavy price from Hamas; I’m not going to tell you what the price is going to be and what we’re going to do; there’s going to be an element of surprise here,” Netanyahu said during the news conference, per CNN.
Israel’s military confirmed on Sunday it recovered the bodies of six hostages in Gaza, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a native of Berkeley, Calif. The six hostages were shot at close range and died either Thursday or Friday before forces reached them in an underground tunnel in Rafah, according to Israeli health and military officials.
The recovery of their bodies prompted massive protests in Israel on Sunday and Monday. Tens of thousands of Israelis publicly called on Netanyahu to reach a cease-fire and hostage release deal as negotiations have dragged on for months.
Israel’s largest trade union, the Histadrut, called for a general strike to take place Monday in response.
Roughly 250 hostages were taken captive during Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, which killed more than 1,100 people. About 100 of the hostages were released late last year during a weeklong cease-fire.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign to eliminate the threat of Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians since early October and driven hundreds of thousands of civilians from their homes in Gaza, according to local and international health officials.
President Biden on Monday said Netanyahu is not doing enough to secure a hostage deal and told reporters mediators are “very close” to presenting a final hostage deal this week to both Israel and Hamas.
Netanyahu said Sunday efforts to free the hostages are “continuing constantly” and alleged Hamas has “refused to hold genuine negotiations.”
Meanwhile, Hamas has claimed it offered to release the hostages in return for a halt in the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of some Palestinian prisoners, the AP reported.