CNN Central News & Network–ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: While Mossad chief David Barnea will fly to Qatar on Friday to attend a potential truce and hostage release deal in Gaza, a controversy of a different kind is taking over Israel. A leading Israeli news channel’s statement that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife Sara complained about freed hostages not thanking them has triggered a row in Israel.
According to Channel 12 news, Netanyahu’s wife told an unidentified opposition lawmaker during a recent meeting to discuss a potential hostage deal: “Did you see how many hostages came back? They didn’t even say thanks to us.”
Over 253 Israelis were kidnapped by Hamas militants during the October 7 attack. While 105 hostages were released under a weeklong truce in November, three hostages have been rescued alive by IDF troops. Over 11 hostages were found dead, including three who were mistakenly killed by the military in mid-December.
Over 130 hostages abducted on October 7 remain in Gaza, and the IDF has confirmed the deaths of 33 of those still being held.
After the report came out, Netanyahu’s office quickly issued a statement denying the report. The PMO adamantly denied that his wife had made such comments, saying the report “contains lies and far-fetched fabrications.”
