‘Psychopath’ Netanyahu sacrificed my cousin for political gain, claims hostage relative

Gil Dickmann hits out at Israeli prime minister after Hamas executed Carmel Gat in Gaza tunnel on Saturday

A relative of a therapist executed by Hamas in a Gaza tunnel at the weekend has blamed Benjamin Netanyahu for her death.
Gil Dickmann labelled the Israeli prime minister a “psychopath” who is sacrificing hostages for his own political survival, while he blocks a peace deal.
Mr Dickmann, 32, told The Telegraph of his anger as he was sitting shiva, a week-long mourning period in Jewish tradition, in Tel Aviv.
Much of the country has united in mourning the death of Carmel Gat, 40, who was killed alongside five other hostages as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) closed in on their position under the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The deaths triggered mass protests and a general strike calling for Mr Netanyahu to sign a deal with Hamas that halts fighting and releases hostages.
Mr Dickmann believes that the prime minister’s hard-line position on a ceasefire is leaving hostages to die.
Critics of the prime minister claim that a peace deal would lead to the collapse of his government.
Mr Dickmann said: “We feel so much anger. The way I understand it, Netanyahu’s strategy is to allow the hostages to get killed. He is a psychopath who wants to see the war continue.”
He said that he was told by the prime minister in a meeting in July that a peace deal was on the table, including the release of three of the hostages who were shot dead on Saturday, but Mr Netanyahu vetoed it.
“Only now do I understand,” he said, that Mr Netanyahu chose not to “spare her life and all the other hostages. It doesn’t matter what the excuse is because they keep changing”.
Mr Dickmann said that the relatives of hostages warned Mr Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defence minister, about the risks to hostages, telling them directly: “Military operations won’t get them out.”
The IDF has also said that it will not be possible to free all hostages through military operations.
When Mr Netanyahu said that “Hamas will pay a price” for killing the hostages, it means that the hostages will also pay, Mr Dickmann said.
“If you ask me if I want the guard who shot Carmel in the head to die or if I prefer even one hostage to get out I will of course choose the life of a hostage.”
Ms Gat was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri, where she was visiting her parents, Eshel and Kinneret, on Oct 7.
Mr Dickmann said that Ms Gat witnessed her mother, Kinneret, being killed as she was kidnapped: “Two other hostages who were with her that day told us, after they were released, that she saw her mother being killed through the window in the car.”
Mr Dickmann described his cousin as a “guardian angel, a peace lover, a figure to aspire to”.
He added: “I loved her so much. She met and touched so many people around the world, making friends from all religions.”
Ms Gat was doing a master’s in occupational therapy at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where she had written her thesis on trauma – a skill that she would use during her time in captivity to help other hostages deal with their impossible situation.
“She not only acted as the hostages’ therapist. She also taught them yoga and mediation. That was an amazing thing for us to hear. It means Carmel was still Carmel, even in captivity,” he said.
Mr Dickmann said that one of the hostages who was released in the November ceasefire said Ms Gat was “the reason” he was still alive.
“We are cautious with reaching out to the hostages who spent time in captivity with her. We want to give them space. Two of them are teenagers. But we would love to hear everything they have to tell about her.”
Mr Dickmann also blamed Hamas for the deaths of the hostages. He said that Yahya Sinwar, the terrorist group’s leader, was also a “psychopath” who does not care if civilians are killed, adding: “That’s how psychopaths win: death and violence.”
In a video released by Hamas on Wednesday, Ms Gat begged Mr Netanyahu to “please stop this negligence and stop this bombing and take us back to our homes”.
Seen wearing a red hoodie and looking relatively healthy, Ms Gat asked Israelis to continue protesting for their release.
Mr Dickmann recalled how the IDF told him and other relatives of hostages in the past 11 months that Hamas considers them “valuable assets” and that they wouldn’t kill them.
“We are dealing with a terror organisation that isn’t afraid of killing hostages and that wants to see us suffer. And we said this from the beginning,” Mr Dickmann said.
However, he said that Mr Netanyahu had been making a string of “excuses” not to sign a peace deal.
He said this had changed from the amount of hostages set to be released in a deal and now focuses on the Philadelphi Corridor separating southern Gaza and Egypt.
On Wednesday night, Mr Netanyahu said that Israel will not withdraw its troops from the corridor until there is a guarantee it can never be used as a lifeline for Hamas.
However, Mr Dickmann doubts that is where the war will end.
“Next time, it will be what colour the [Gaza] fence is,” he said.