Netanyahu: Israel offering $5M reward for each Gaza hostage freed

Demonstrators hold placards and light flares during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held captive since the October 7 attacks by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, in front of the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv on November 16, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the militant Hamas group. Agence France-Presse

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel was offering a reward of $5 million to anybody who brings out a hostage held in Gaza.

“Anybody who brings out a hostage will find with us a secure way for them and their family to leave” Gaza, Netanyahu said in a video filmed inside the Palestinian territory, according to his office.

“We will also give them a reward of $5 million for each hostage.”

READ: Wealthy Israelis offer rewards for release of Gaza hostages

Wearing a helmet and a bullet-proof jacket, Netanyahu spoke with his back to the Mediterranean in the Netzarim Corridor, Israel’s main military supply route which carves the Gaza Strip in two just south of Gaza City.

“Anyone who dares to do harm to our hostages is considered dead — we will pursue you and we will catch up with you,” he said.

Accompanied by Defense Minister Israel Katz, Netanyahu underlined that one of Israel’s war aims remained that “Hamas does not rule in Gaza”.

READ: Israel set for general strike after Gaza hostages found dead

“We are also making efforts to locate the hostages and bring them home. We won’t give up. We will continue until we’ve found them all, alive or dead.”

During Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack which triggered the war in Gaza, militants took 251 hostages. Of those, 97 are still held in Gaza, including 34 who have been confirmed dead.