LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Tens of thousands of children have been killed or wounded in Gaza. A U.S.-based nonprofit is organizing the medical evacuation of 11 wounded Palestinian children to get care in American hospitals. We'll hear from the cofounder of that group in a few minutes. But first, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff visited Israel in recent days and met with families of the hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
He told them that President Trump is working to reach a deal to bring the hostages home as international pressure grows to stop the starvation and Israeli bombardments in Gaza. But then last night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took a hard-line tone.
FADEL: We go to NPR's Eleanor Beardsley now, who is in Tel Aviv for the latest. Hi, Eleanor.
ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: Good morning.
FADEL: Now, Eleanor, I know over the weekend two new hostage videos surfaced. What was the impact of those, and what did they show?
BEARDSLEY: Oh, Leila, there's been a huge impact from that. It shows two men who were kidnapped at the Nova music festival. And one of the videos showed an emaciated hostage who said he feared he was digging his own grave inside a tunnel. This has gutted the nation. People are desperate to bring these hostages home and end this war. NPR went to the usual Saturday night protests in Tel Aviv. And the crowds had swelled because of these videos, where they were shown there. And we spoke to protester Gili Dekel (ph). She says so much more pressure needs to be put on Netanyahu.
GILI DEKEL: Netanyahu is very good at promising. And he's saying, yeah, let's end the war. But the moment Witkoff is not here, he's listening up to his extremist partners. So I think the pressure is just not enough.
BEARDSLEY: You know, she said many Israelis are disappointed in President Trump because they thought he could end this war, but he keeps giving Netanyahu the benefit of the doubt.
FADEL: So what is the latest from the Israeli prime minister?
BEARDSLEY: Well, there were hopes that the desperate condition of these hostages in the videos might push him to come to a deal with Hamas to get them out. But last night, a person familiar with the details and not authorized to speak publicly told NPR that among Israeli officials, quote, "there's a growing understanding that Hamas is not interested in a deal, and therefore the prime minister is pushing for the release of the hostages through military defeat." Then Netanyahu's office put out a statement saying, and I'm quoting here, "Hamas monsters don't want a deal. They have thick, fleshy arms. And they are starving the hostages the way the Nazis starved the Jews." Now, of course, Hamas says any hunger is due to Israeli's blockade of aid. But the hostage families say any military action to free them would be a death sentence.
FADEL: Let's also talk about the conditions now in Gaza. I mean, there's so much desperation and starvation. Is more aid getting through now to Gaza?
BEARDSLEY: It's dribbling in. It's not enough. International condemnation is growing but also condemnation within Israel. On Friday, Israel's best-known living writer, David Grossman, said in an interview with an Italian newspaper that this war in Gaza and starvation is a genocide. And he's a huge moral voice. Add that to the top two Israeli human rights groups who've also called it a genocide. Of course, these groups are seen as on the left. But mainstream and even right-leaning media are now saying there are no more targets in Gaza. It's time to leave.
And last night in a letter, 500 members of the Israeli security movement, which includes former IDF commanders, said everything that could be done by force has been done. Now, I spoke with Nadav Weiman, head of a group called Breaking the Silence. These are former soldiers in Israel against the occupation of the West Bank. And he said this is the Middle East's most powerful army fighting individuals who lay roadside bombs and booby trap houses, but of course, that still kills soldiers. Here he is.
NADAV WEIMAN: Because now we're not fighting Hamas. We are holding our position. We are demolishing the Gaza Strip. So soldiers are sitting in their APCs or tanks, in the same place, so it's easier for the Hamas to kill them.
BEARDSLEY: A recent poll shows that 80% of Israelis, despite political differences, want to end this war. And many people, he said, Weiman, increasingly see this as Netanyahu's war.
FADEL: That's NPR's Eleanor Beardsley in Tel Aviv. Thank you, Eleanor.
BEARDSLEY: Thank you, Leila. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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