Halevi: Military operations won't bring captives back
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Israeli Major General Herzi Halevi, Chief of Staff of the military, says the IOF is encountering substantial challenges in collecting intelligence on Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip.
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Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in an undisclosed location in 2023. (AFP)
Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi told the families of captive soldiers, both living and dead, during a tense meeting on Saturday evening that the effort to secure the release of Israeli captives is growing progressively more challenging and complicated as time goes on, according to Israeli media.
Halevi stressed that the Israeli military is encountering substantial challenges in collecting intelligence on Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip.
He added that he was “not sure there will be anyone to bring home” if a deal is not reached soon.
The Chief of Staff of the Israeli military highlighted his concerns to the "political echelon," noting that, despite significant criticism for not making sufficient concessions to secure a deal for the captives' release, Prime Minister Netanyahu has steadfastly refused to agree to withdraw Israeli troops from the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border.
Regarding the potential end date of the war, Halevi informed representatives of Israeli captives' families that he "cannot predict when it will conclude," further noting that "the Israeli military is far from reaching that goal."
Netanyahu is giving the country 101 Ron Arads: Israeli captive's mom
The families of Israeli captives accused Netanyahu on Saturday of abandoning their family members in favor of war in the North.
Einav Zanguaker, the mother of a captive held in the Gaza Strip, said that Netanyahu shifted the focus of the war from the Gaza Strip to the north and abandoned captives.
She said that Netanyahu decided to "abandon the captives to die in the tunnels."
Currently, Israeli authorities estimate that 101 Israeli captives, including four imprisoned on events unrelated to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, are being held by the Palestinian Resistance in the Gaza Strip.
Zanguaker said that Netanyahu is giving Israelis "101 Ron Arads," referring to an Israeli military pilot who was captured in 1986 by Lebanese Resistance fighters and has since then disappeared.
She also criticized the Israeli military pressure for "killing the captives," emphasizing that there is a "deal on the table that is ready to be signed now."
"This week Hamas again repeated its agreement (to a deal). But Netanyahu continues to insist on his hollow Philadelphi spin to sink the deal," she added, referring to Netanyahu's insistence on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian-Egyptian border area in the Gaza Strip.
Another family member of an Israeli captive said that Netanyahu must be removed from power in order to retrieve the captives.
Read more: Netanyahu is waging war on senior Israeli military commanders: Report
