[News] Netanyahu vows retaliation against Gaza after Hamas returns bodies of 4 Israeli prisoners

[Anti-Imperialist News]

middleeastmonitor.com
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250220-netanyahu-vows-retaliation-against-gaza-after-hamas-returns-bodies-of-4-israeli-prisoners/>
Netanyahu vows retaliation against Gaza after Hamas returns bodies of 4
Israeli prisoners
Middle East Monitor
February 20, 2025
------------------------------

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed revenge against the Gaza
Strip on Thursday after Hamas released the bodies of four Israeli
prisoners, despite accusations that his prolonged refusal to negotiate
their release led to their deaths, *Anadolu reports.*

Hamas handed over the bodies of Shiri Bibas, her two children — Ariel and
Kfir — and Oded Lifshitz, in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis earlier
in the day under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with Israel.

The Palestinian resistance group said they were killed in Israeli
indiscriminate airstrikes during the 16-month genocide on the enclave.

In his first statement following the handover, Netanyahu, who faces charges
of crimes against humanity in Gaza, declared in a statement published by
his office that “the voice of our dear ones’ blood cries out to us from the
ground. It requires us to settle accounts with the depraved murderers – and
we will settle accounts with them.”

He said: “Returning these four bodies compels us to ensure that what
happened on October 7 never happens again,” suggesting his intent to resume
the war on Gaza.

*READ: Hamas hands over bodies of 4 captives killed during Israel’s bombing
of Gaza
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250220-hamas-handover-bodies-of-4-captives-killed-during-israels-bombing-of-gaza/>*

Hamas said Israeli forces were responsible for the deaths of the prisoners
by bombing locations where they were held. The group emphasized that it
treated captives humanely and attempted to protect them.

It noted that the same Israeli attacks that killed the four prisoners also
killed 17,881 Palestinian children in what the group described as Israel’s
“criminal bombardment of Gaza.”

“Netanyahu now mourns over the remains of his prisoners, trying to evade
responsibility for their deaths,” Hamas said in a statement, accusing him
of using the situation for political survival.

Netanyahu’s threats against Gaza come as public anger mounts over the
return of Israeli captives in coffins for the first time in the exchange
deal.

The backlash forced the prime minister to cancel plans to attend the
reception of the remains, fearing the optics of the moment would turn
against him, according to media reports

The Israeli opposition has blamed Netanyahu for the deaths, arguing he
stalled a prisoner swap for months to avoid jeopardizing his fragile
coalition, which includes far-right ministers pushing for the war in Gaza
to continue.

The Gaza ceasefire deal took effect last month, halting Israel’s genocidal
war that has killed more than 48,300 victims, mostly women and children,
and left the enclave in ruins.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for
Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and
crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for
its war on the enclave.

*READ: Israel drops leaflets over Gaza threatening Palestinian existence
there
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250220-israel-drops-leaflets-over-gaza-threatening-palestinian-existence-there/>*
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