Israeli defense minister calls for ‘painful concessions’ to return hostages from Gaza

JERUSALEM 

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called Sunday for “painful concessions” to release hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

“Not every objective can be achieved through military means alone; force is not the answer to everything,” Gallant said at a memorial day held for those killed in a Hamas attack last year.

“When it comes to fulfilling our ethical duty of bringing hostages home, painful concessions will be required,” he added.

The defense minister acknowledged that the ongoing Gaza war was “complex and unprecedented in its challenges.”

“This year, we struck our enemy and created a new security reality around us, but the costs have been very high,” he said, claiming that Israel has achieved “unprecedented victories” on all fronts.

“In the south, Hamas no longer operates as a military entity. In the north, Hezbollah continues to suffer a series of blows, with its leadership structure shattered, most of its missile power destroyed, and its forces pushed back from the border.”

Gallant’s statements came as Israeli negotiators are set to resume negotiations in Qatar for a potential hostage exchange deal with Hamas.

Israel estimates that some 101 captives are still held by the Hamas group in Gaza, some of whom are believed to have been already killed by Israeli ongoing and indiscriminate airstrikes across the tiny enclave.

Mediation efforts led by the US, Egypt, and Qatar to reach a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap agreement between Israel and Hamas have failed over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to end the war.

The Israeli army has continued a devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 43,000 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 100,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the territory’s entire population amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi

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