"We're doing everything we can around the clock" to get hostages released, Netanyahu tells CNN
0Israel is "doing everything we can around the clock" to get its more than 200 hostages released by Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNN's Dana Bash on Sunday.
This one of our two war goals. One is to destroy Hamas, and the second is to bring back our hostages," he said.
Bash asked Netanyahu what he would say in regard to the thousands of Israelis, including the families of the hostages, that rallied this weekend, frustrated that they are not getting more information on their loved ones who were abducted by Hamas on October 7.
He responded, saying: "It's understandable. They're under tremendous distress. They're under — just, torture."
When asked whether he's doing enough, Netanyahu said: "We're doing everything we can around the clock, and I can't, you know, talk about it."
Netanyahu said "the entire world should join us" in attempting to free hostages, adding that the only ceasefire that will be considered "is one in which we have our hostages released."
Some context: Netanyahu has been under pressure for failing to anticipate the deadliest attack since Israel’s founding, which saw Hamas gunmen killing more than 1,200 people and taking more than 200 people hostage, according to Israeli authorities.
At a protest on Saturday, families of hostages called on Netanyahu and the government to do more to secure their release.