Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, said the hostages would still be alive if Israel had accepted a U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal that Hamas said it had agreed to in July.
Funerals began, with more outrage. Sarusi’s body was wrapped in an Israeli flag. ”You were abandoned on and on, daily, hour after hour, 331 days,” his mother, Nira, said. ”You and so many beautiful and pure souls.”
Divisions in Israel, and in the government
Netanyahu has vowed to continue the fighting until Hamas is destroyed.
Top security officials say the intense pressure on Hamas has created favorable conditions for a cease-fire deal. The army, noting the difficulty of rescue operations, has acknowledged that a deal is the only way to bring home large numbers of hostages safely.
But critics have accused the prime minister of putting his personal interests over those of the hostages. The war’s end likely will lead to an investigation into his government’s failures in the Oct. 7 attacks, the government’s collapse and early elections.
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