Is Benjamin Netanyahu doing enough to secure release of hostages?

Benjamin Netanyahu "will not surrender to pressure" to agree to a hostage deal despite widespread protests in the country following the deaths of six Israeli captives in Gaza on Saturday.

"No one is more committed to freeing the hostages than me. But no one will preach to me," said Netanyahu. 

The Israeli prime minister insisted on a long-term military presence along the Philadelphi corridor in Gaza, which borders Egypt, "even as international mediators and his own security chiefs warn that it would hold up a deal to free hostages held by Hamas in Gaza", said the Financial Times.

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What did the commentators say?

Netanyahu's "uncompromising tone" follows extensive protests in Israel, including a general strike, after the six hostages were found dead in a Gaza tunnel on Saturday, said the FT. 

US President Joe Biden has expressed frustration with Netanyahu's stance. He said a final hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas was "very close", but when asked if he thought the Israeli leader was doing enough on the issue, the US president responded: "No."

"Netanyahu has weathered many storms in his long years as the country's leader, but none as big as this," said Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall on Sky News. "He believes his approach to Gaza is the right one and he is convinced he can ride out this pressure," Bunkall added. "Maybe, but his refusal to compromise and the fate of the hostages at stake, he is boxing himself into a corner Israel might never forgive him for."

"Two things should be clear to anyone paying attention," said Mickey Bergman, chief executive of Global Reach, on Foreign Policy. "First, Hamas and its senior leader in the enclave, Yahya Sinwar, are responsible for the ongoing suffering of the hostages in Gaza; and second, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has the power to secure their release but has chosen again and again not to do so."

Since December, there has been a proposal to exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners predicated on a ceasefire and a path to a diplomatic settlement after the war. This "is the only formula that could secure the return of all hostages from Gaza", said Bergman. Sinwar "will not agree to changes in the basic outlines of the deal," and contrary to Netanyahu's claims, military pressure "does not work on him". 

Netanyahu, on the other hand, is "not genuinely interested in a hostage deal" because it threatens his political survival. "Netanyahu presided over the single largest one-day loss of civilian Jewish lives since the Holocaust," said Bergman, "and his only way to survive politically is by perpetuating the war."  

But while "Netanyahu's critics claim that he is motivated solely by venal political considerations," said Melanie Phillips in The Times, "do they really think he can settle for a deal that would allow Hamas to recover"? An Israeli surrender "would also galvanise and further empower Hezbollah and Iran, which have pledged to wipe Israel off the map," Phillips added. "You don't have to be a Netanyahu fan to see that he had no other option. No prime minister would have agreed to such surrender terms."

What next?

A total of 97 hostages remain unaccounted for after being kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October last year.

Hamas said on Monday that hostages would be returned "inside coffins" if military action from Israel continues, adding that "new instructions" have been given to militants guarding hostages if they are approached by Israeli troops.

"Netanyahu's insistence to free prisoners through military pressure, instead of sealing a deal means they will be returned to their families in shrouds. Their families must choose whether they want them dead or alive," said a Hamas spokesperson.

US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators continue to work on brokering a ceasefire deal that would see Hamas release the 97 hostages still held, including 33 presumed dead, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Some reports suggest Biden could soon offer a final "take it or leave it" deal to Israel and Hamas as early as this week, according to sources cited by Sky News' US partner network NBC.