Israeli media: Other captives require deal, concessions

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli Media
9 Jun 2024 07:05
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Israeli occupation newspaper, Haaretz, considered the rescue operation of the four IOF and settler captives, from Gaza, to be a mere "dose of encouragement" and emphasised that it is unrealistic to expect the return of the remaining captives through rescue "operations".

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Palestinians look at the aftermath of the Israeli bombing in Nuseirat refugee camp, Gaza Strip, Palestine, June 8, 2024. (AP)

Israeli media continues to discuss the issue of Israeli occupation forces and settlers held captive in the Gaza Strip following the rescue mission of 4 of them.

Significantly, the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, highlighted the impracticality of expecting the release of the remaining captives without a substantial exchange deal.

In this context, Amos Harel, a military affairs analyst for Haaretz, stated, on Sunday, that the operation carried out by the Israeli occupation forces provided what he described as "a much-needed dose of encouragement for the Israeli public," noting that it is unrealistic to expect the return of the remaining captives in the same way.

Harel stressed that "Israel is not close to absolute victory," adding that the return of a large number of captives from the Gaza Strip "will only happen through a deal that requires significant concessions."

In his discussion about providing a "dose of encouragement that the Israeli public desperately needs," he explained that it came "after weeks of feelings of stagnation and bad news emerging from the war in the Gaza Strip."

The Israeli occupation analyst confirmed that the event "does not herald a strategic change in the course of the war," reminding readers that in the past eight months since more than 250 Israeli occupation forces and settlers were captured, "only 7 of them have been returned in three separate operations." He considered it unrealistic to expect that "the remaining 120 prisoners, many of whom are no longer alive, could be freed using similar methods."

Harel also mentioned Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stating that the return of the prisoners came after a long period of disappointment he experienced. He noted that "it was impossible not to notice the absolute irony with which Netanyahu is now acting," pointing out that Netanyahu himself "completely disappeared from the picture whenever news of additional prisoners being killed in captivity was received."

It is worth mentioning that the former commander of the Israeli Air Force, Eitan Ben Eliyahu, acknowledged when commenting on the return of the captives that this event is "localized and its impact remains limited."

Referring to the operation not leading to strategic changes in the course of the war, Ben Eliyahu emphasized during his interview with Israeli Channel 12 on Saturday that "it cannot be concluded that Hamas will surrender after this operation, nor that the Middle East will change, or that peace will prevail for a hundred years."

In a similar stance, the former head of Israeli military intelligence, Tamir Hayman, said that the recovery of the four captives was a "tactical event," stressing that "the strategic predicament in which Israel finds itself has not changed."

Retrieving 4 captives does not change IOF failure in Gaza: Hamas

The Hamas Resistance movement affirmed on Saturday that the Israeli occupation army's announcement of the retrieval of several captives, after eight months of aggression in which it used all military, technological, and security means, and committed all kinds of crimes, from massacres to genocide, starvation, and siege, "will not change its strategic failure in the Gaza Strip".

In a statement, Hamas highlighted that it was still holding a large number of captives, noting that it could increase its yield of captives, just like it did during the latest operation in the Jabalia refugee camp in late May.

"Our brave Resistance, and steadfast people behind it, have achieved the most incredible victories in the battle against the reckless Zionist aggression that is backed by the powers of evil and violence, and have taken it upon themselves to continue its path, with all determination and defiance until it is defeated and its goals thwarted," the statement read.

In this context, the Resistance movement saluted its fighters "who had defied the invading occupation forces and bravely confronted them for hours in the Nuseirat refugee camp and central Gaza, and eliminated their terrorist officers and soldiers, the killers of women and children."

Hamas also responded to reports by Israeli and American media confirming US participation in today's "criminal operation" by announcing that it "proves once again the complicit role of the US administration, its full participation in the war crimes that are being committed in Gaza, and its deceitful public stance regarding the humanitarian situation and concern for civilian lives."

Concluding its statement, Hamas urged the Arab and Muslim masses and the free people of the world for "more pressure, and an escalation of the mobilization against the aggression and genocide in Gaza," demanding the international community and the United Nations to take a "real stance" from the prolonged crimes which have "devastated humanity and spoken to the world, in sound and picture", to work on ending them and prosecuting the perpetrators for their cold-blooded murders of children and civilians.

This came after Israeli occupation forces said they retrieved four live captives from the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

Reportedly, Resistance fighters guarding the captives had clashed with an Israeli force invading the camp, which led to the death of an occupation officer from the Yamam unit.

Moreover, a US official told Axios that the US hostage cell in "Israel" had backed the efforts to retrieve the four captives.