On Monday on CNN's “The Lead,” Eliav Benjamin, deputy chief of mission at the Israeli Embassy in DC, said that while Hamas was given 72 hours to release the remains of the deceased hostages, “let's also remember that a week ago they were also given 70 hours. And the reality on the ground is much more complex than on paper. We hold them accountable.”
Benjamin said: “It's an extreme feeling of mixed feelings because on the one hand we are over the moon, the release of our 20 living hostages and four dead hostages, the president's visit to Israel… this is an amazing visit of his, very short, an address to the Knesset, people are celebrating in the streets. But at the same time, we are still waiting for another 24 deceased hostages to come home and They will see us get through the next stage of this agreement.”
Host Phil Mattingly then asked, “In terms of the 24 bodies that have not been returned at this point, there was a 72-hour window to complete the first phase. It was within the 72-hour window. In your opinion, does that mean the agreement was broken at some level?”
Benjamin responded: “It's true, we were given 72 hours. But let's also remember that 70 hours was also given a week ago. And the reality on the ground is much more complex than on paper. We are holding them accountable. We are holding Hamas accountable to hold out – to keep their end of the deal. And we expect them to do that until the very last hostage that comes back, and we expect them to do that, and we “We expect the entire international community to lean heavily on Hamas because they have leaned heavily on them to actually come to the table and make this deal actually happen.”
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