Families of Hamas hostages urge Netanyahu to agree to 'everyone for everyone' prisoner exchange, concerned ground op endangers lives of loved ones

After the families of some of the 229 confirmed captives in the Gaza Strip pleaded for a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, Netanyahu agreed and met with some of the representatives.

The families had released a statement following the announcement by the Israel Defense Forces on Friday evening regarding the beginning of a limited ground campaign into Gaza.

“This night was the worst of all nights,” read the statement from the families.

The families said they are concerned for the safety of loved ones as the IDF conducts operations in the Gaza Strip as they target the Hamas terror organization's operations, infrastructure and terrorists.

The families fear that Hamas could begin executing captives in order stop the operation, or that captives could be killed by the IDF strikes, particularly because Israeli intelligence reportedly does not know exactly where the captives are being held.

“It was an unending night, against the background of the IDF’s major operation in the Gaza Strip, and complete uncertainty regarding the fate of the abductees who are being held there and are also subject to the heavy bombardment,” the statement read.

Netanyahu, along with his wife Sara, met with the families at the military headquarters in Tel Aviv. This is the second time Netanyahu has met with families of the hostages.

Following the meeting, Netanyahu released a statement.

“We will utilize and exhaust every possibility to bring them home,” the premier told the representatives of the families.

Netanyahu also confirmed that the effort to free the captives is “an integral part of the goals for the operations as we have defined them.”

Before the ground campaign into Gaza, there was hope that a Qatar-led effort to negotiate for the release of more hostages would bear fruit.

The IDF previously stated that part of its previous limited incursions into the Gaza Strip was to collect information that could lead to the location of the hostages.

Representatives of the families urged Netanyahu to agree to an “everyone for everyone” prisoner exchange in which Palestinian terror prisoners would be swapped in a one-for-one exchange with captives taken on October 7.

Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s senior leader in the Gaza Strip, said Saturday the terror group is ready willing to make a prisoner swap with Israel.

“We are ready to conduct an immediate prisoner exchange deal that includes the release of all Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in exchange for all prisoners held by the Palestinian resistance,” Sinwar said in the statement.

Yocheved Lifschitz, one of the hostages released last Monday, said the hostages were being kept in underground tunnels.

On Saturday, IIDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari said there is "a deliberate desire of parties with interests, led by Hamas, to make cynical exploitation, psychological terrorism, and to influence our population which is in such a sensitive situation."

“Most importantly, when we have the information, we will provide it,” he added. “Returning the hostages home is a supreme national effort. And all our activities, operational, intelligence, are aimed at realizing a goal.”

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that he will meet with the families on Sunday.