Gantz calls for temporary unity government to secure Gaza hostages

Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz on Saturday urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and fellow opposition heads Yair Lapid and Avigdor Lieberman to form a temporary government excluding the far right, with the goal of securing the release of hostages held in Gaza.

The hostages were abducted during Hamas’s unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack, which killed over 1,200 people in Israel and triggered the ongoing war in Gaza. About 50 hostages, dead or alive, are still believed to be in captivity.

Netanyahu lost his parliamentary majority in July after ultra-Orthodox parties quit his coalition over conscription disputes, leaving him dependent on far-right allies opposed to any deal with Hamas. Gantz argued that only a new centrist coalition could break the deadlock, calling for a “government of prisoner redemption.”

Tens of thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv the same evening, demanding the hostages’ release and an end to the war. Critics accuse Netanyahu of prolonging the conflict and sacrificing the captives to appease far-right partners.

Hamas has accepted a proposal for a 60-day truce and phased hostage release in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Netanyahu has ordered “immediate negotiations” but has not endorsed the mediators’ plan.

While pressing for a deal to bring the hostages home, Gantz, a former military chief, insisted the war against Hamas must continue until the group is dismantled.