It is highly likely that Yehudit Weiss will not be the last abductee whose body is located by IDF forces operating in Gaza. Israel knows for certain that Hamas seized bodies on 7 October to negotiate in return, and some of the wounded who were abducted may have died since then.
The meticulous searches that the IDF conducts in Gaza's hospitals, first and foremost Shifa Hospital, are designed precisely for this: to look for signs indicating that abductees were at the scene and may have been treated, and subsequently lead to their location. Together with the information accumulated and the deepening control of Gaza City, the forces are able to reach additional items and signs related to the abductees, and may be able to reach any of them later – dead or alive.
The effort and attention devoted to this issue is enormous, above and beyond what is known to the public. The defense establishment is invested in them up to its neck: in operations, in intelligence, in harnessing every possible international connection or lead in order to lead to even the smallest breakthrough. On the other hand, Hamas does everything to make things difficult: it conceals and obscures evidence, smuggles abductees into the southern Gaza Strip, and misses no opportunity to make life miserable for the families of the abductees and for the entire State of Israel.
Satan must lose. Sinwar, photo: AFP.
In recent days, the possibility of a limited deal has been on the agenda, which would include the release of hostages in exchange for a ceasefire. At first, there was talk of releasing 100 abductees, then the number dropped to 80, and yesterday there was already talk of 50. On the other hand, Hamas increased the number of ceasefire days it demanded to five and set an additional condition: release in rations, so that it could control, resume and stop the process at will, in order to maximize its profits.
As a result, Israel found itself in a dilemma. On the one hand, the possible release of abductees, even a few, is part of the justified statement that anyone who saves one life is as if he saved an entire world. On the other hand, there is the understanding that Yahya Sinwar is from Tel Benno and wants to exploit Israel's soft underbelly for much broader purposes, chief among them thwarting the extensive military operation in the Gaza Strip. In the prolonged ceasefire, his organization will be able not only to refresh, accumulate forces and equip itself, but also to mobilize forces (and abductees) to positions where it will challenge the IDF again, as well as to use damaged means and tunnels. The IDF will be static and vulnerable to harm (Hadar Goldin was killed and his body was abducted during a ceasefire in Operation Protective Edge), and international pressure may make it difficult for it to fight again, as it has done in recent weeks.
The Great Dilemma
This is not a simple leadership dilemma, against the backdrop of hundreds of families and increasing public pressure to resolve the issue of abductees. Both decisions are reasonable: agree to the proposed deal, or reject it – and each has broad implications. Since Israel has defined as the main objective of the operation the toppling of the Hamas regime and severe damage to its military capabilities, it must ask itself whether it can move forward if it makes a deal now – certainly in the case of a partial deal, which will leave Hamas with close to 200 abductees that it can continue to use to neutralize the Israeli move.
Israel has done business with Satan before, including the so-called Hamas. But this time, after Black Sabbath, she vowed to kill him, knowing that if she blinked, he would beat again. It must find a way to persist in this, and continue to constantly look for solutions to the issue of abductees. Even if she is forced to stop for a moment, she must not take her eyes off the final and justified goal of the war.
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