Ruby Chen, whose son Itay was believed to be killed on October 7, 2023, and whose body remains in Hamas captivity, said on Thursday that he is in contact with mediators in the negotiations for a hostage deal who asked him, "How is it that we brought a positive answer from Hamas ten days ago and the Israeli government has not even discussed it?"
Chen responded, "I don't have a good answer other than that it's not the government's top priority."
Chen, speaking in an interview with Israel's public broadcaster, added that "the prime minister claims that with the help of the operation in Gaza it is possible to bring back the hostages, but it's unlikely that this method will bring back every last hostage. We will get all of the hostages back through an agreement. Hamas does not pose an immediate strategic threat to the State of Israel, but the government is employing fear tactics."
Chen also said that "no one knows what Israel's position is on hostage negotiations. [Strategic Affairs Minister] Ron Dermer received the mandate to create a vision of the day after, quite early in the war. I wonder how legitimate it is that Dermer represents the position of the State of Israel [concerning the hostage negotiations,] while the Israeli public does not know the official government position."
