FALCON POWERS – The Chief of the General Staff of the Israeli Army, Herzi Halevi, said that there is an “urgent need” to reach a deal to release the hostages being held by Hamas, after the failure of previous negotiation rounds.
The Hebrew website “Walla” reported on Thursday that Halevi said in the Security Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday evening that the Israeli army “is exerting military pressure on Hamas, including through the operation in Rafah, but this must be accompanied by a political move to release the abductees.”
The source mentioned that all the heads of the security agencies and the negotiating team called for the urgent need to move to reach an agreement to release the abductees “even at the cost of being willing to discuss Hamas’ latest proposal and make concessions.” The Israeli Army Chief of Staff had previously criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a few days ago for his failure to develop the so-called “war strategy,” according to the Times of Israel.
Halevi said at the time that “there is no political move that would lead to the establishment of another governing entity other than Hamas in the Gaza Strip.”
Military officials have also accused Netanyahu’s government on several occasions of not exploiting the operational achievements in Gaza to achieve political progress.
The “Walla” website said that “the achievements in Gaza may erode with the failure of negotiations regarding the release of detainees in Gaza.”
