Israel's Prime Minister Says Anyone Who Murders Hostages Doesn't Want a Cease-Fire Deal

People walk next to the poster depicting Alexander Lobanov, whose body was retrieved from Gaza, displayed together with the posters of other hostages kidnapped during the deadly October 7 attack by Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, September 1, 2024. REUTERS/Florion Goga

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed sorrow over the deaths of six hostages, saying the killings prove that Hamas does not want a cease-fire deal.
Netanyahu said Sunday that he was heartbroken to hear the news of the hostages’ deaths.
He accused Hamas of killing them in “cold blood” and said Israel would hold the group accountable. He also accused the group of scuttling ongoing cease-fire efforts.
“Whoever murders hostages doesn’t want a deal,” he said.
Critics in Israel have accused Netanyahu of dragging his feet in cease-fire talks — a charge he denies.
Israel on Sunday said it had recovered the bodies of six hostages in Gaza, including a young Israeli-American man who became one of the most well-known captives held by Hamas as his parents met with world leaders and pressed for his release, including at the Democratic convention last month.
The military said all six had been killed shortly before the arrival of Israeli forces trying to rescue them. Their recovery sparked calls for mass protests against Netanyahu, whom many families of hostages and much of the wider Israeli public blame for failing to bring them back alive in a deal with Hamas to end the 10-month-old war. Negotiations over such a deal have dragged on for months.
Militants seized Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, and four of the other hostages at a music festival in southern Israel during Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, which triggered the war.