Families of Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas have said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the one obstacle preventing their return and reaching a peace deal.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum: Bring Them Home Now wrote on social media that Israel's strike on Qatar last week shows every time a deal approaches, Netanyahu sabotages it.
The group's comments come after Israel carried out a strike on senior Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital of Doha, which Hamas said killed five of its members and a Qatari security official.
On Saturday, Netanyahu said getting rid of Hamas leaders in Qatar would rid the main obstacle to releasing the hostages and ending the war.
He also accused Hamas of blocking all ceasefire attempts in order to drag out the war in Gaza.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Israel on Saturday and is due to meet with Netanyahu as Israel faces global condemnation for the attack.
However, families of the hostages described the Israeli PM's response as the latest excuse for failing to bring home their loved ones.
The targeted operation in Qatar proved beyond any doubt that there is one obstacle to returning the 48 hostages and ending the war: Prime Minister Netanyahu, they said.
The time has come to end the excuses designed to buy time so he can cling to power.
The group added that Netanyahu's stalling had cost the lives of 42 hostages and threatens the lives of additional hostages who are barely surviving.
Before his departure, Rubio said US President Donald Trump was not happy with the strike on Qatar, but stressed that the US-Israeli relationship was very strong.
When asked whether the strike on Doha complicates Qatar's willingness to work with the US, Rubio said they've been good partners on a number of fronts.
Qatar is a key US ally in the region and the location of a major American air base.
In the wake of the strike, Qatar condemned Israel's attack as cowardly and a flagrant violation of international law.
Netanyahu said the move was fully justified because it targeted senior Hamas leaders who organized the October attacks.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces have stepped up their assault on Gaza City with a wave of heavy air strikes, reducing entire apartment blocks to rubble.
Israeli military has been targeting schools and makeshift shelters, issuing warnings only moments before bombardments.
On Saturday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said about 250,000 people had left the city and moved south.
Netanyahu's plan to occupy Gaza City has drawn international criticism, with the UN warning a military escalation in an area where famine has been declared will push civilians into an even deeper catastrophe.
About 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage in the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, leading to an increased military campaign in Gaza. Since then, Hamas-run health ministry reports over 64,605 fatalities in Gaza as a result of the Israeli airstrikes.
