(CNN) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday offered $5 million and safe passage out of Gaza to anyone returning a hostage.
“To those who want to leave this entanglement I say: Whoever brings us a hostage will find a safe way out for himself and his family. We will also give $5 million for every hostage,” Netanyahu said.
“Choose, the choice is yours, but the result will be the same. We will bring them all back.”
Speaking at the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza alongside Defense Minister Israel Katz, Netanyahu added that whoever harmed a hostage would “pay the price.”
Critics of the prime minister have accused him of deliberately stalling negotiations for a hostage release deal, alleging it serves to extend the war and prolong his hold on power – claims Netanyahu has denied.
His announcement was met with outrage from the mother of Matan Zangauker, one of the hostages still held in Gaza.
“The prime minister is trading the hostages’ lives,” said Einav Zangauker.
She criticized Netanyahu for “offering money to Hamas” and said his attempt to “divide and rule in Gaza through bribes to the captors” would put the hostages at risk.
“It’s unbelievable that the man who funded Hamas is once again offering money to Hamas,” she said, referring to a controversial deal in which Qatar sent millions of dollars to Gaza for years with Israel’s backing.
Netanyahu defended the initiative when it was launched in 2018, saying it was meant to return calm to Israeli villages in the south and prevent a humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
“When this is the strategy of the prime minister, I understand that he has no intention to save the hostages, he’ll continue stalling, and he intends to sacrifice them and the soldiers on the altar of his political considerations,” Zangauker said.
When Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 of last year, it killed more than 1,200 people and took over 250 others hostage. Of those abducted, 97 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the Israeli military.
Many of those rescued in Israeli operations were recovered dead, causing outrage in Israel.
