Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu engaged in a phone call with recently released former hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, in which Netanyahu expressed his commitment to ensure that all hostages would return, a Monday N12 News report revealed.
Dekel-Chen was released less than two weeks ago as part of the ceasefire-hostage deal after spending over 500 days in Hamas captivity since the October 7 Hamas attacks in 2023.
The call between Netanyahu and Chen lasted 12 minutes, which is considered longer than Netanyahu's typical phone calls with freed hostages, the report noted.
Netanyahu began by expressing that he was "happy to hear" Dekel-Chen's voice and that he was able to be reunited with his family.
"I am glad that I insisted on securing the release of as many hostages as possible in the current deal—despite Hamas's opposition," Netanyahu reportedly then said.
Dekel-Chen reportedly emphasized to Netanyahu the hardship of returning home from captivity while knowing that there were other hostages still left behind.
Netanyahu assures that he will leave no hostage behind
Netanyahu then reiterated to Chen that he "won't leave anyone behind."
"We are working very hard to bring them all home," Netanyahu added.
During the call, Chen also extended a personal invitation to Netanyahu to "put politics aside," as he invited the prime minister to come visit Kibbutz Nir Oz.
"I understand you haven’t visited Nir Oz. I am inviting you personally—let’s put politics aside," Chen said."Just you and me walking the kibbutz paths. Everything is blooming now, but I will show you the bloodstained places and the burned houses," he continued.
The report noted that Netanyahu thanked Chen for the invitation to the kibbutz, and he responded to Chen by saying, "Thank you very much, Sagui. I appreciate it."
The report also added that Dekel-Chen told Netanyahu, "We may come from different perspectives, but even when I was in captivity, I always believed that decisions in Israel were made professionally—and I ask that this remain the case. The real victory is bringing love back to the streets, and that will only happen when the hostages come home."
Who is Sagui Dekel-Chen?
Dekel-Chen, now 36, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz. His wife, Avital, gave birth to their third child shortly after he was abducted.
The baby, born two months after the massacre, was named Shahar, Hebrew for the first light that comes after darkness.
Seeing the first photos published of his release, his wife said, “He’s handsome.” After reuniting with his wife, Dekel Chen boarded an IAF helicopter, where he sent a message to his children: “Bari, Gali, Shahar – thank you for looking after me, Dad is coming.”
Danielle Greyman-Kennard contributed to this report.