Israel's Ambassador to India Reuven Azar said that Israel doesn't have any interest in controlling the Gaza Strip.
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00:00Guns, coffins and a chilling display.
00:14Hamas hands over bodies of four hostages.
00:27Israel moans as dead bodies return.
00:41Israel President Netanyahu seeks forgiveness.
00:53Israel ambassador exclusive on India First.
01:03Guns, coffins and a chilling display.
01:07That's how Hamas handed over the dead bodies of four Israeli hostages.
01:12Among them, a nine-month-old baby and a four-year-old toddler.
01:17Israel has said the four hostages were killed in Hamas custody.
01:21Hamas claims the four were killed along with their bodyguards in an Israeli airstrike on
01:27the Gaza Strip.
01:29We get you more in this report.
01:36A chilling and grotesque display.
01:40Hamas terrorists stage a public ceremony near Khan Yunis, Gaza, before returning the bodies
01:46of four Israeli hostages.
01:49Among them was Shiri Bibbas and her two young sons, Khaifir and Ariel, whose fate had remained
01:54unknown since their abduction on October 7, 2023.
02:00Khaifir Bibbas was just nine months old at the time of his capture and was the youngest
02:05hostage taken by Hamas during the October 7 attack.
02:09His older brother, Ariel, was only four years old.
02:13The fourth victim was 83-year-old Oded Lifshitz.
02:22The handover was not just a transfer of remains, but a gruesome display orchestrated for propaganda.
02:30The four bodies were presented in black coffins on a stage adorned with banners as thousands,
02:36including armed Hamas terrorists, gathered to witness the event.
02:42The large poster was hung up at the handover site, depicting Netanyahu as the vampire standing
02:48over images of the four hostages.
02:51It read, the war criminal Netanyahu and his Nazi army killed them with missiles from Zionist
02:57warplanes.
03:02Red Cross staff walked to the stage where the four coffins were laid out, surrounded
03:06by masked Hamas militants, and signed papers as part of the handover, before they were
03:12carried to their vehicles.
03:19Each of the caskets had a small picture of the hostages.
03:22You know, I've been wearing this for nearly 500 days, and honestly, I think today is one
03:32of the saddest days of my 40 years in Israel.
03:38Not only specifically for this poor family who did not, not get the, I mean, I don't
03:47even think we thought that the babies were alive for a long time, but I feel terrified
03:54that our government is not, is going to continue not making the right decision to end the war.
04:02I feel sad for our society, and I feel devastated for the families.
04:09Today is going to be a very sad day to the state of Israel, because we had a lot of casualties.
04:17The Hamas raped, burned, killed, massacred a lot of women, men, and children on October
04:267th, 23.
04:28What we knew about those hostages, the Bibas family, we saw them being taken alive and
04:34captured by the Hamas.
04:37And the lies that they're trying to spread around the world today, that supposedly they
04:42died because Israelis bombed in Gaza, and they got killed, it's the biggest lie.
04:50They just massacred and murdered those people.
04:54There's no mercy with those people.
04:57The handover marks the first return of dead bodies during the current agreement.
05:05Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed the names of the four hostages
05:10whose bodies were returned.
05:13Bureau Report, India Today.
05:22The images of Hamas returning four coffins, hostages in coffins, has horrified Israel.
05:30The youngest victim, barely nine months old.
05:33The oldest returned today, 83 years old.
05:37How is Israel responding to this?
05:40Will this have an impact on the ongoing ceasefire?
05:43Joining me now for more on this developing story is Reuven Azar, Israel's ambassador
05:49to India.
05:51Ambassador Azar, welcome to India Today.
05:53Heartfelt condolences, Ambassador.
05:56Have these four bodies been positively identified?
06:00Receiving a coffin of a nine-month-old baby or an 83-year-old man must be extremely painful,
06:06sir.
06:07Yes, Gaurav, this is a very sad day in Israel.
06:13The entire nation of Israel has been watching the sadistic ceremony of Hamas in which they
06:20have transferred to the Red Cross four bodies.
06:23We haven't, we got the names, but we haven't identified yet the bodies.
06:28It's a process that is probably going to take about two days.
06:32We're going to extract, have to extract DNA from these little babies and their mother
06:38and another hostage, all in all four bodies, in order to make sure that indeed these are
06:45the bodies of Shir Bebas, Kfir, Ariel, and Mr. Lifshitz.
06:55Ambassador Hamas is claiming that the four hostages, along with the security guards,
07:01were killed in an Israeli airstrike, and they are not to be blamed for the deaths of these
07:06hostages.
07:07Well, you know, first of all, the fact that they were taken from Israel is a war crime.
07:19They shouldn't have been taken, a mother, a young mother with the babies.
07:22We saw the videos.
07:24It was probably the most horrific scene that our nation is going to remember from the 7th
07:30of October, along to many other pictures.
07:32But no doubt, these pictures of the young mother holding in her arms the two babies
07:37is something we're going to remember for many years to come.
07:41So the fact that these bestial terrorists took her and didn't take her out of harm's
07:50way and used her as a human shield, this only manifests really how monstrous these terrorists
07:58are.
07:59So this accusation that it's the responsibility of Israel is completely ridiculous.
08:07They shouldn't have taken hostages, they shouldn't have taken civilians, they shouldn't have
08:13taken babies and mothers, and this whole thing would have been avoided.
08:20They shouldn't have attacked Israel on the 7th of October.
08:26But does receiving these coffins, and I believe four more hostages are likely to be handed
08:32over in coffins in the next 48 hours, what impact, if at all, is this likely to have
08:40on the first phase of the ceasefire, which is likely to be in place till early March?
08:46Well, first of all, these images are going to make us more resilient and more concentrated
08:55in the ultimate goal, to make sure that the 7th of October doesn't happen again in the future.
09:01And that means that we are going to take all the measures, not just to bring back our hostages,
09:07but to take out Hamas from governance in the Gaza Strip.
09:11Because if we surrender to the extortion of Hamas and we allow Hamas to rearm and regroup,
09:20the clock will start counting down for another attack in the future.
09:25That's what they want to do.
09:27So we are now advancing with a very, very difficult task of achieving both two goals,
09:34to bring back all our hostages.
09:36We are, after these 14 hostages that are coming back under phase one of the deal, we're going
09:43to be left with 59, and we are going to bring each and every one of them home while not
09:52surrendering to terrorism.
09:54And if there's something that is convincing us to continue pursuing this goal, it's these
10:01pictures that we are seeing today.
10:04So you're saying, Ambassador, you're saying that about 59 that will remain, 59 hostages
10:10that will remain in Hamas custody after the first phase of ceasefire is over.
10:15Do you have any information about the condition of those 60, several of whom are believed
10:22to be Israeli servicemen who were taken prisoners when their ammunition ran out during that
10:287th October terrorist strike?
10:33Well, according to our information, about half of them are not alive.
10:42They are held under terrible conditions.
10:45We demand the immediate release of all of them.
10:48If Hamas thinks that building on that, they will be able to arm themselves again, to attack
10:55us again in the future, they are dead wrong.
10:58What they have to do is to surrender power in the Gaza Strip, to allow the Palestinian
11:04people that has suffered also from the tragic results of this war to be led by decent people,
11:11by a leadership that will be more pragmatic, more moderate, will engage with the international
11:15community.
11:16Nobody in the international community is going to come and rebuild the Gaza Strip while these
11:21terrorists are in control.
11:23So during the second phase, what we are expecting to see is a negotiation that will bring diplomatically
11:33to the removal of Hamas from control in the Gaza Strip.
11:37If it doesn't happen diplomatically, it will happen militarily.
11:45We want to avoid that.
11:46We prefer to continue with diplomacy, to finish this war, to bring all the hostages and to
11:51remove Hamas diplomatically from control in the Gaza Strip.
11:55Okay, because what I want to understand from you, Hamas is reported to have said they will
12:00not return any more hostages after phase one unless Israel agrees to a permanent ceasefire
12:06and Israel withdraws from Gaza completely.
12:09You are saying that forward movement will only happen once Hamas is no longer in control
12:15of the Gaza Strip because nobody can rebuild Gaza with Hamas in charge.
12:20So is the Hamas condition acceptable to Israel?
12:27Well, Israel doesn't have an interest of controlling the Gaza Strip.
12:33If we would have the interest of controlling the Gaza Strip, we could have stayed there
12:38when the IDF invaded the Gaza Strip.
12:41We have zero interest in controlling the Gaza Strip, but we want to make sure that Hamas
12:46doesn't control the Gaza Strip either.
12:49So if we can create a situation, a permanent ceasefire, in which Hamas will be removed
12:55from power in the Gaza Strip, then we can achieve, it's a win-win, both for the population
13:00of Gaza, for Israel, for the hostages, for everybody.
13:04They have to decide whether, and believe me, there is a lot of criticism against Hamas
13:11in the Gaza Strip because the people are suffering a great deal as a direct result of the unprovoked
13:18attack of Hamas on the 7th of October.
13:20They want to restore their lives, and the only thing that is keeping them to going back
13:26to their lives and rebuilding their lives is Hamas.
13:30So when Hamas does these sadistic ceremonies in the Gaza Strip with the hostages, they
13:37don't gain popularity in Gaza.
13:40People are sick and tired of these shows of bravado and sickness.
13:46What they want to see is normalcy, and therefore everybody, except Hamas and the terrorist
13:53organizations, have a common interest.
13:56To remove the terrorists, to restore decent life for people on both sides of the border.
14:03Ambassador, what is Israel's take on U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to move people
14:09out of Gaza to rebuild Gaza?
14:11Is that even possible?
14:13Is that feasible?
14:15Well, President Trump is coming with ideas outside the box.
14:23And I think that what it really means is that we cannot go back to our archaic ideas of
14:30complacency with terrorism, of getting us to live with a constant threat.
14:40And he sees very clearly that it's going to be very difficult to have a reconstruction
14:48while people have to live in tents for a long period of time.
14:52So the idea is that those Palestinians that want to temporarily or permanently leave,
14:58and there are countries that want to accept them, they should be allowed to leave.
15:03It's not something that will happen by force.
15:07At the end of the day, when you have, unfortunately, wars all over the world, people leave the
15:13war zones.
15:14Take, for example, Ukraine.
15:16Five million people left Ukraine because of the war.
15:20Take the civil war in Syria.
15:22Eight million people left Syria.
15:24So why are the Palestinians in Gaza the only ones that are not allowed to leave?
15:29Why do they have to be prisoners?
15:31They shouldn't be prisoners.
15:33So it's a very simple idea.
15:35And it's a very natural idea.
15:36The question is, how naturally can we negotiate a situation in which countries that want to
15:44accept Palestinian refugees can accept them, and how we arrange, technically, for the exit
15:51of those who want to leave?
15:54So your point is that Hamas is holding the people of Palestine hostage at the Gaza Strip.
16:01In case they are to be moved out for redevelopment of that region, is there a roadmap for it?
16:07Is there a timeframe for the implementation of the Trump plan, which you believe is an
16:11out-of-the-box solution?
16:13Is that even doable?
16:14Because there are several countries that are opposed to such a plan.
16:21I think that this is being discussed behind the scenes.
16:24We have to, first of all, make sure, as I told you, that Hamas is out of control in
16:29the Gaza Strip.
16:31It's very clear that as long as these radical Islamic terrorists are there, nothing much
16:36can be achieved.
16:39And once that is achieved, then I think a lot of windows of opportunity are going to
16:44be opened for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
16:50Is there an apprehension, Ambassador, that this conflict could actually escalate and
16:55not remain confined to the non-state actors, and perhaps Hamas may not return more hostages
17:03after the end of phase one of the ceasefire?
17:06Yes, it could certainly escalate, because Israel is not going to allow a situation in
17:13which Hamas remains in control of the Gaza Strip.
17:15It continues extorting both Israel, the Palestinian population, and the region as a whole.
17:24And could the Israel-Hamas conflict widen into a regional conflict if there is a breakdown
17:29of ceasefire, if people are compelled to leave the Gaza Strip?
17:36I don't think so.
17:37Look, Hamas tried to widen the conflict, and we saw how Nasrallah, who probably is going
17:46to be buried in some kind of sick funeral in Beirut in the coming days, tried to play
17:54with it in the regional scene.
17:56Israel has removed the regional threat.
17:59Israel has defeated Hezbollah.
18:03Israel has exposed Iran, has attacked Iran in retaliation for attacks coming directly
18:08from Iran.
18:09So I think that the appetite in the region to attack Israel again are not very high.
18:13There are still the Houthis in Yemen.
18:16They do not constitute a serious threat on Israel.
18:19So I don't think that there is much of a chance of regional escalation.
18:24Hamas understands very well that their army was defeated in the Gaza Strip.
18:29The only thing that they have is the pickups.
18:32They can still have some tunnels.
18:34They can try to challenge our forces.
18:36But at the end of the day, this is not going to be a major obstacle for the IDF.
18:41The IDF is ready.
18:43We have reinforced our forces in the south in Israel.
18:48We have recruited some additional units.
18:52And we are ready.
18:54And they understand that very well.
18:55So it's either the work with the mediators and the rest of the international community
19:01to remove themselves from the Gaza Strip, and if they don't, Israel will feel completely
19:06free to re-engage in military operations.
19:11And with President Donald Trump in the White House, is Israel more confident that it will
19:16be able to carry out its offensive against the Hamas?
19:20And how do you separate the people of Hamas from the Palestinian people who have been
19:25suffering this conflict between the Israeli defence forces and Hamas?
19:34I think that we are getting support from the White House.
19:38We have seen it in many ways, both in the release of ammunition, different kinds of
19:46ammunition that were withheld before President Trump came to power in the White House.
19:52We are seeing it in the statements, in the public statements of the President.
19:57And he has said time and again that he's going to give all the support for Israel to do what
20:02is best for its national security.
20:05Okay.
20:07Ambassador Ruben Azar, for joining me here on India Today.
20:11Many thanks.
20:12We'll be tracking developments on the story very, very closely.
20:14Hoping for peace.
20:15Thank you for joining us.
20:16Thank you, Gaurab.
20:22US President Donald Trump has hinted at USAID interference in India's elections earlier,
20:30and the BJP is claiming vindication, accusing the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha,
20:35Rahul Gandhi, of being a tool of foreign agencies.
20:39The Congress, meanwhile, has hit back.
20:41The Congress has demanded a white paper on USAID funding in India.
20:48What do we need to spend 21 million for voter turnout in India?
20:52Well, 21 million dollars, I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected.
20:59Donald Trump's big bombshell on US meddling in Indian polls for a regime change.
21:07Trump hinted at Biden administration's interference in Indian polls by pumping in funds to stop
21:12re-election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
21:16Trump also highlighted the need to keep Indian government in the loop about such meddling.
21:23And 21 million dollars for voter turnout in India.
21:26What do we need to spend 21 million for voter turnout in India?
21:30I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected.
21:32Well, we ought to tell the Indian government, because when we hear that Russia spent about
21:38two dollars in our country, it was a big deal, right?
21:43Trump's remarks came days after Elon Musk led Doge to stop 21 million dollars in US
21:48funds to boost Indian voter turnout.
21:52The revelations sparked explosive political war in India.
21:56The BJP asserted that there was a conspiracy to dethrone Modi with foreign help.
22:03For voter turnout, what kind of money do you need?
22:06People in India don't need, you know, money for turning up.
22:11So it's essentially just labelling it.
22:13It was basically for regime change and it's been given to people.
22:17And they must come clean at this juncture.
22:19An investigation must go and find out and get to the root of where the money went.
22:26The BJP posted Rahul Gandhi's video from 2023, where he was seen seeking help from
22:32the West to expose the reality of Modi-ruled India, calling it proof of Congress' role
22:38in the conspiracy.
22:40So the surprising thing is that the so-called defenders of democracy, which are the United
22:46States, European countries, seem to just be oblivious that a huge chunk of the democratic
22:53model has come undone, right?
22:56Which is a real problem.
23:00The BJP said that the Congress-led global conspiracy was flagged multiple times by Prime
23:05Minister Modi.
23:06The BJP said that the Congress-led global conspiracy was flagged multiple times by Prime
23:10Minister Modi.
23:37But the Congress rubbished Trump's charges and termed them nonsensical.
23:52It also sought details on US aid fundings from government.
23:58The big question.
23:59Did the US try to subvert the political process in the world's largest democracy?
24:04Better report India Today.