"There is no solace in revenge," said the family of slain hostage Carmel Gat on Saturday, responding to the IDF announcement that they killed two of the Hamas terrorists who held Gat and five other hostages.
Gat was held along with Almog Sarusi, Alex Lobanov, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, and Hersh Goldberg-Polin. The six survived months in captivity and were murdered soon before IDF soldiers reached the location where they were being held. Three were listed as those who would be released in the first round of a hostage deal, according to Israeli media reports.Gat’s family thanked the IDF soldiers, “who have been risking their lives in impossible conditions for 11 months.”
The family added that they were not comforted by the knowledge that the two terrorists were killed by IDF soldiers.“Carmel would not have cared if her murderers or those who murdered her mother were alive or dead. She would want to know that the hostages had come home alive,” her family said.
'The answer to death is not more death'
“The answer to Carmel’s murder is not revenge against the murderers. The answer to death is not more death. It is life.”The family said that the answer to Gat’s death must be a deal that would bring the hostages home and prevent regional escalation.“That is the difference between us and our enemies – they sanctify death, we sanctify life.”Israel’s victory will be measured in the return of the hostages and not in how many terrorists are killed, the family concluded.