Israeli minister deal for free captives. The Israeli war cabinet minister and former head of the Israeli military, Gadi Eizenkot, says an agreement is essential to ensure that captives still held in the Gaza Strip are released alive, adding that the likelihood of a lightning strike succeeding is extremely low.
He also stated that the fate of the captives should be given precedence over other war aims of Israel even if it means that Israel loses out on an opportunity to take out the political head of Hamas in the course of the battle in Gaza last month.
According to him, it is unlikely that the captives will be rescued in a rescue operation like the one conducted in 1976 by Israeli commandos in which about 100 hostages were liberated in Entebbe, Uganda, and this is due to the fact that such a mission would be really hard to carry out.
In a statement to Israel’s Channel 12 late on Thursday, Eizenkot told the public that the hostages are spread out so extensively – even underground – that there are extremely few chances [that such an operation will take place].
The team is still working hard and seeking out every opportunity that might arise, but this is unlikely to happen and to say that this is how it will happen would be to create an illusion.”
According to Israeli estimates, there are approximately 130 captives who remain in Gaza, with 27 of them having died in captivity. A week-long truce prevailed between Hamas and the Israeli government that ended on November 7, allowing thousands of captives seized by the group during the October 7 attack to be released.
Eizenkot said in the interview, “I believe that in the near future it will not be possible to bring back alive the hostages without a deal in place.” and it is necessary to say that boldly.
He went on to add that, however, even if there was a temporary ceasefire, the broader war aims would remain valid.
Israel has been responsible for killing 24762 people in Gaza in the course of its air, ground and sea offensive. The death toll from the Hamas attacks on October 7 in Israel has been revised to 1,139 as of today.
A rift within the organization
Eisenkot’s comments, which were released after the fourth month of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, are the latest indication of disagreements between Israel’s political and military leaders over the course of the offensive.
Several Israeli prime ministers have commented on the ongoing conflict, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, which have argued that only military action can lead to the release of the captives.
Despite its demands for a ceasefire followed by negotiations on releases, Hamas has demanded the release of thousands of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel in exchange for the release of those held captive in Gaza as a means of ending the war.
In addition to Eisenkot, Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, are the remaining four members of Israel’s war cabinet.
According to his interview, he has also said that in the days after Hamas allegedly struck in November 2004, he was able to convince officials in the group to hold off on attacking Hezbollah in Lebanon confirming that the preemptive strike on Hezbollah was aborted at the last minute during the early stages of the war.
At an October 11 cabinet meeting, he recalled being among those who argued against such a strike, causing him to become hoarse due to all the shouting that he was doing while speaking. I believe that Israel would have made a grave strategic mistake if it had not been for our presence there.
There is no doubt that Israel and Hezbollah want to avoid war, but both sides have said that if the need arises, both are fully capable of fighting each other.
In addition, Eizenkot said there is no evidence that the Israeli military has struck a decisive blow against Hamas.
Despite the fact that significant numbers of soldiers have been withdrawn from the northern Gaza Strip in recent days, Gallant said Israeli forces have disabled Hamas’s command structure in that territory, and they are now focusing their attentions on Gaza’s southern half.
Even in the most devastated parts of Gaza, Hamas continues to fight back against the Israeli army, launching rockets into Israel from all parts of Gaza.
I believe we have not yet achieved a significant strategic achievement, or rather only partially achieved one,” Eisenkot said. Hamas did not come down because we didn’t bring them down.”
That news provided by timenews.
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