Netanyahu: Freeing hostages is 'important' but 'supreme goal' in Gaza is 'victory'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said defeating Hamas remains his primary objective in Gaza, while adding that returning hostages still held by the militant group was "a very important goal."

Netanyahu, addressing an Independence Day event in Jerusalem, said Israel had "many goals" in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, according to the Times of Israel.

"We want to bring all our hostages home. We’ve so far brought back 147 alive, and 196 total,” he said. “There are another up to 24 alive, 59 total, and we want to return the living and the dead.”

“It’s a very important goal,” Netanyahu said, before adding, “The war has a supreme goal, and the supreme goal is victory over our enemies, and this we will achieve.”

Netanyahu's comments come as Israel's military has returned to the Gaza Strip, with ceasefire talks seemingly stalled. Hostage families told The Hill this week that Trump's upcoming trip to the Middle East made them hopeful of a breakthrough.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Netanyahu’s comments were alarming given the condition of previously released captives. 

“Prime minister, the return of the hostages is not ‘less’ important – it is the supreme goal that should guide the government of Israel,” the group said in a statement, according to CNN. “The families of the hostages are concerned.”

Many in the region are facing the threat of starvation, as Israel continues to throttle humanitarian aid from entering the territory. 

“Blocking aid starves civilians. It leaves them without basic medical support. It strips them of dignity and hope. It inflicts a cruel collective punishment. Blocking aid kills,” Tom Fletcher, the United Nations' emergency relief coordinator, said Thursday. 

Netanyahu’s comments echo some of the recent remarks from the hawkish far-right leaders of his governing coalition.

“We need to tell the truth – bringing back the hostages is not the most important goal. It is, of course, a very, very, very, very important goal,” far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said last week, according to CNN. 

“But anyone who wants to destroy Hamas and eliminate the possibility of another October 7 must understand that in Gaza, there can’t be a situation where Hamas remains present and intact.”