The US-based group J Street — which supports Israel but has been a vocal critic of Netanyahu and has called for a deal to end the fighting and secure the release of Israeli captives — has slammed Netanyahu for stating that the return of the captives is not the primary aim of the conflict, Al Jazeera reports.

“There is no ‘victory’ with the hostages in captivity. There is no ‘victory’ when Netanyahu refuses any post-war peace and stability plan,” the group said in a social media post. “This is no ‘victory’ when this government drags its country further into a moral and strategic abyss.”

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