The headquarters of the families of the abductees in protest in front of the Prime Minister's house in Caesarea/the headquarters of the families
Four senior officials in the IDF expressed concern that the destruction of the top Hamas leadership in a military operation in the Gaza Strip would cost the lives of the 136 Israelis who were kidnapped on October 7 and still remain in captivity of the terrorist organization - this is what the New York Times published today (Saturday). It will probably cost the lives of the abductees." According to them, the release of the abductees in Gaza can only be achieved through diplomatic efforts.
The senior officials expressed frustration that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has not yet presented an orderly plan for "the day after the war", and according to them the indecisiveness of the political leadership causes frustration in the IDF .
Meanwhile, they raised questions about the length of time Israel would need to operate in Gaza in order to completely crush the terrorist organization's leadership and eliminate its leaders in the Strip, led by Yahya Sinwar - and this in the shadow of the growing international pressure to end the fighting and the rising death toll in IDF attacks.
IDF soldiers in Gaza 1/20/24/Reuters
A rally to mark 100 days of the abductees in captivity, the abductees square, January 14, 2024/Reuven Castro
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at a cabinet meeting, Kirya, Tel Aviv.
December 31, 2023/Image processing, Miriam Elster/Flash 90
Musa Abu Marzouk, a member of the political bureau of Hamas, claims that the terrorist organization "does not want to continue holding hostages" and requests a new prisoner exchange deal.
"Ultimately, Israel will be forced to make a deal, because it failed during more than a hundred days of war to rescue prisoners by military force," Abu Marzouk told the Russian news agency Sputnik.
"Either they will return them through a deal or they will take them as bodies."
"Releasing the abductees is part of the goals of the war, and a supreme effort," the IDF responded to the publication in the New York Times, "the statements made on behalf of senior IDF officials are not recognized, and do not reflect the army's position."
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Gaza war
War of Iron Swords