Relatives of seven US hostages kidnapped in Gaza demand agreement

September 1 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Relatives of the seven US hostages held by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Sunday demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reach an agreement to free the hostages.

The statement was issued after the discovery of the body of American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin along with those of five other hostages in the southern Gaza Strip, presumably killed in the last few hours.

“The tragic murder of Hersh just months after seeing his face in a hostage video released by Hamas is cruel and senseless to say the least,” they said in a joint statement reported by the newspaper ‘The Times of Israel’.

“This is further evidence that Hamas is killing hostages and a cruel reminder that with each passing day the chances of bringing anyone home alive become more jeopardised. For 331 days we have been warning that this could happen. Enough is enough,” they added.

The Israeli opposition and the families of the victims took to the streets of major Israeli cities on Sunday to pressure Netanyahu to close a deal, accusing the prime minister of not reaching an agreement in order to stay in power and satisfy his far-right allies.