Two years after Hamas’s October 7 massacre, a chapter once deemed impossible has closed: the living hostages taken into Gaza have all been returned, and nearly all of the slain recovered. But as one chapter ends, another begins—with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now signaling a dramatic shift toward decisive deterrence.
On Monday, Netanyahu’s office announced that Israel will not allow the safe passage of approximately 200 Hamas terrorists currently trapped in the Israeli-controlled Rafah area, firmly rejecting media reports that such an evacuation was under consideration.
“The Prime Minister continues his firm stance of disarming Hamas and demilitarizing the Strip while thwarting terrorist threats against our forces,” the statement read.
The rejected proposal, reportedly floated by international mediators, involved allowing the terrorists to surrender their weapons and evacuate via Red Cross corridors—possibly in exchange for the return of additional hostage remains. But that suggestion sparked fierce political backlash.
“This is utter madness. Stop this,” wrote Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on X. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on Netanyahu to ensure the terrorists are either “destroyed or arrested,” adding, “This is an opportunity—not for negotiation, but for justice.”
The IDF confirmed that on Sunday it eliminated several terrorist gunmen who crossed the so-called “yellow line,” the buffer demarcating Israeli withdrawal zones, and approached soldiers in a threatening manner.
Later that night, the military announced that three more fallen hostages—Col. Assaf Hamami, Capt. Omer Neutra, and Sgt. Oz Daniel—had been identified after their remains were returned by Hamas. With their identification, only eight bodies of slain hostages remain in Gaza, a grim reminder of the October 7 rampage that left 1,200 dead and 252 kidnapped.
But with the final 20 living hostages returned on October 13 under the terms of a US-brokered truce, Netanyahu’s government is now pivoting from rescue to retribution.
That pivot took formal shape on Monday when the prime minister endorsed a bill to impose the death penalty on convicted terrorist murderers, a policy long advocated by Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party but previously shelved due to hostage negotiations.
“The prime minister’s position is in favor of the proposed law,” said Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, Jerusalem’s coordinator for the captives and missing. “Today the reality is different… I see it as a tool in the toolbox in the fight against terror.”
According to the bill’s text, any terrorist convicted of murder “out of motives of racism or hostility… with the intention of harming the State of Israel and the rebirth of the Jewish people in its land” will face a mandatory death sentence.
Supporters say the law sends a clear message: no terrorist will walk away alive.
Ben-Gvir, speaking after a Knesset committee meeting, doubled down: “There will be no discretion in this law… Every terrorist who goes out to murder must know they will face only one punishment—the death penalty.”
Though Israel has executed only two individuals in its history—Meir Tobianski in 1948 (later exonerated) and Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1962—this new legislation could mark a watershed in Israeli criminal law and counterterror policy.
Analysis: What began as a rescue operation has now evolved into a hard recalibration. Netanyahu’s stance reflects a broader national mood: The era of restraint is over.
Hostages have been returned. Gaza is partially demilitarized. And now, the message is unambiguous: There will be no deals for terrorists. No safe passage. No mercy.
Want more news from Israel?
Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates
