Benjamin Netanyahu meets with former hostages Tal and Adi Shoham

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sarah met with former hostages Tal and Adi Shoham last night (Wednesday).

Here is the full statement:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, last night (Wednesday, 5 March 2025), met with Tal Shoham, who was recently released from Hamas captivity, together with his wife Adi, who was released in the first deal (November 2023) with their two young children.

During the warm two-hour meeting, the Prime Minister and his wife heard from Tal about the difficult period that he and his fellow hostages endured in captivity, the hostages' daily suffering, his brother – Guy Gilboa-Dalal – and Evyatar David, who remain in captivity, and about the brutal psychological warfare they were subjected to by Hamas terrorists.

Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed condolences to the Shoham family over its terrible loss in the October 7 assault, conveyed his full appreciation to Adi and Tal for their struggle in captivity and expressed regret over the prolonged torment they endured.

The Prime Minister said that the relentless efforts and activity to free all of the hostages, living and deceased, continue.

With the completion of the first phase of the hostage deal, negotiations for the release of the remaining 59 hostages have stalled, with Israel refusing to agree to continue the deal in a way that requires an end to the war and Hamas refusing to disarm as Israel demands.

Israel is meanwhile preparing to renew the war within a week or so, as soon as the new IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir becomes established and finishes his round of appointments and approves the necessary battle plans. Zamir has reportedly been insisting that the IDF now focus on victory and defeating the enemy, and has even vetoed plans for being insufficiently aggressive in achieving those goals against Hamas.