“The Hostages Weren’t Our Top Priority”: Israel’s “Bombing Frenzy” Endangered Hostages Held in Gaza

Support our work: A new investigation reveals Israel launched its military campaign of relentless airstrikes, which has killed nearly 1% of the population of Gaza, with little intelligence about where hostages taken by Hamas were being held. Jerusalem-based journalist Yuval Abraham reports the military decided hostages were “just not a priority,” their safety “relegated in favor of carrying out this bombing campaign.” The revelation comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces increasing pressure to secure the release of the hostages after Israeli forces shot dead three Israeli hostages who managed to escape captivity in northern Gaza. Abraham lays out the “outrageous” differences between the media reaction to the IDF killing Israeli hostages rather than Palestinian civilians. “Really, at the heart of a lot of what is going on is this disparity between having some people whose lives have meaning and other people whose lives have no meaning for so many people in the West and in Israel.” Transcript: Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET. Subscribe to our Daily Email Digest: