Gantz pledges release of Israelis in Gaza in first defense minister call

Gantz spoke with the families of Lt. Hadar Goldin and Sgt. Oren Shaul, as well as the families of Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz (photo credit: CORINNA KERN/REUTERS)
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz
(photo credit: CORINNA KERN/REUTERS)
Defense Minister Benny Gantz pledged to secure the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza when he spoke by phone with their relatives, in what his first external call in his new position.
“During the conversation, Gantz expressed his commitment to return them [the hostages] home,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Gantz spoke with the families of Lt. Hadar Goldin and Sgt. Oren Shaul. Both young men were presumed killed during the 2014 Gaza war and their remains have been held by Hamas. He also talked with the families of two Israelis civilians held captive in Gaza, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed.
Leah and Simha Goldin said they were moved by the call from Gantz, who is also the alternate prime minister.
“We told Gantz he shouldn’t miss the opportunity to return soldiers and civilians. The new government should act here and now and to fulfill its duty to the families,” Leah and Simha tweeted.
Gantz also raised the issue of the four Israelis at the small Tel Aviv ceremony, in which he took over the mantle of Defense Minister from Naftali Bennett. At the ceremony, he promised “not to rest” until Goldin and Shaul were returned home.
“It is a moral, national and personal obligation,” he said, adding that in the spring he also promised to work for the release of Mengistu and al-Sayad, both of whom have been held captive by Hamas for over five years.
Outgoing Defense Minister Naftali Bennett apologized for failing to return the bodies of Goldin and Shaul. 
“There is one mission that to my sorrow we didn’t finish. We have not returned the fallen soldiers of Operation Protective Edge, Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, may their memory be a blessing," Bennet said.
He then turned to Gantz, saying "Benny, the two of us, I in the cabinet and you as Chief of Staff, sent them on their mission and it is our responsibility to bring them back for a proper burial in Israel.”