As Israel received the bodies of four hostages murdered while being brutally held in captivity in Gaza, President Isaac Herzog spoke to international US-based media outlets, CNN and MSNBC , and highlighted the terrible cruelty Israel faces in its battle with Hamas terrorists, and as the country worked to bring home all the hostages. Speaking to CNN ’s Dana Bash, President Herzog reiterated, “The Islamic Jihad and Hamas have killed barbarically innocent kids and their mothers and their fathers and grandparents all throughout on that horrific October 7, let's not delude ourselves. There is a girl, Mila Cohen, not even a one-year-old toddler, they shot her in a bedroom.” Noting that the final identification of the bodies was still pending, the President stressed, “Why would they take a family like the Bibas family? What brings somebody to kidnap a mother and two toddlers in their pajamas? And this shows the cruelty of the enemy that we are dealing with. Pure cruelty that must be met forcefully, because it's a threat to the ordinary human beings.” He added, “First and foremost, we want to bring all our hostages back home. There are 69 of them out and it is assumed that the majority are still alive. I'm speaking to their families throughout these days. We have to get to the second stage of the deal and complete it and bring them back home whilst making sure that Hamas cannot reign in Gaza.” Speaking to the MSNBC Morning Joe program, President Herzog said, “The story of the Bibas family has hit each and every person of morality in the world. You're speaking about a mother and two toddlers – a baby and a little boy. And the other person is Oded Lifshitz, an 86-year-old, elderly peace activist who used to work with the Palestinians on a daily basis to help them in any way they needed. My nation is agonized, and it is reminding us of a national memorial day.” He added, “It is a true reality of what we Israelis have been going through with these jihadists who've taken over Gaza and turned it into an Iranian terror base against Israel with their hate, with a lack of morality, and with their barbaric approach to life. They believe in death. We believe in life.” The President condemned Hamas’ actions when handing over the bodies. He said, “It was so humiliating, so disgusting, so despicable. Even the UN commissioner on human rights condemned it strongly and fiercely, and that is the reality we are faced with.” He stressed, “We did not seek that war on October 7, 2023, these barbaric guys went into Israel, raping, abducting, burning, taking hostages and killing people all throughout the border were in their homes, dwelling in their life, an internationally recognized border. They've ruined the hope of Israelis, and they ruined the hope of Palestinians too. And I think it is what you call pure cruelty. And one has to understand that to fight pure cruelty, you have to fight totally and uproot pure cruelty because terror is What leads to this vicious cycle in our region.” He added, “On Saturday, six more hostages are due to be freed, and of course, we are paying a heavy price. We are releasing arch-terrorists, unfortunately, who have killed many Israelis. But this is part of the painful deal in order to save and bring back our brothers and sisters. Now we have to negotiate the next phase, and I am hopeful, and I'm definitely extremely supportive of getting to the next phase so that we can bring everybody back home, and we can create a trajectory that changes reality in the Middle East, especially between Israel and Gaza, so that we see a different future for the people in Gaza and the people of Israel.”
