JERUSALEM – The Israeli army has sought to guarantee the general public it can succeed in the 2 objectives of its war on Hamas concurrently — toppling the strip’s militant rulers and rescuing some 230 hostages kidnapped from Israel.
But as the military ramps up airstrikes and floor incursions at the blockaded enclave, laying waste to whole neighborhoods in preparation for a broader invasion, the anguished families of hostages are rising increasingly more anxious the ones objectives will collide — with devastating penalties.
Annihilating Hamas would appear to require a floor operation of extraordinary depth fraught with the chance of harming Israeli hostages. Saving hostages caught inside of Gaza would seem to require engagement with Hamas, the crowd that ceaselessly traumatized the rustic when it despatched combatants into southern Israel to brutally kill over 1,400 people and take dozens captive on Oct. 7, sparking this newest war between the sour enemies. Over 7,700 Palestinians were killed within the Israeli offensive, in step with the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.
Israel’s executive has now not described what a rescue venture may just seem like. In a televised cope with past due Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the agony of hostages’ families and promised their liberate was once an “integral” a part of Israel’s war effort, on par with its purpose of destroying Hamas.
Hamas political leaders are in negotiations with mediators Egypt and Qatar to safe the liberty of no less than some trapped Israeli civilians. Four hostages have have been released thus far.
Anxiety over Hamas’ hostages reached a fever pitch Saturday, as Israel intensified its air marketing campaign and despatched troops into Gaza with heavy firepower. Crowds protested outdoor Israel’s Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, hard that Netanyahu and different officers cope with the destiny in their family members.
It labored. Netanyahu met with the families Saturday and vowed to “exercise and exhaust every possibility to bring them home.” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant promised to meet them Sunday for what his office described as the first official meeting with them.
“We are not waiting any longer,” said protester Malki Shem-Tov, whose 21-year-old son, Omer, is being held captive in Gaza. “We want all of them back with us today. We want you, the Cabinet, the government, to imagine that these are your children.”
The plight of the hostages has captured the nation’s attention for the past three weeks. Israeli media are filled with stories about the hostages and interviews with their families.
But all of the military’s options carry enormous risks. A military invasion raises the prospect of intractable warfare in densely populated cities and subterranean tunnels that could suck young soldiers into a monthslong quagmire.
With the hostages believed to be hidden in Hamas’ sprawling tunnel network, heavy fighting raises the prospect of unmitigated chaos for soldiers and hostages alike.
Late on Friday as the Israeli military struck Gaza by air, land and sea with a ferocity never seen before, families of hostages were on edge, acutely aware of the dangers facing their loved ones.
“It was a long and sleepless night,” said Liat Bell Sommer, a spokesperson for the families who she said suffered from “absolute uncertainty regarding the fate of the hostages held there, who were also subject to the heavy bombings.”
The bombardment appeared to ship a message to Hamas — if the crowd concept it might keep away from a devastating floor invasion as a result of the captives in Gaza, it was once unsuitable.
Balancing the families’ pursuits with the army purpose of destroying Hamas has offered a quandary for Netanyahu, who’s already under fire for his executive’s failure to forestall the worst assault in Israeli historical past and to all of a sudden come to other folks’s help that day.
Amos Yadlin, a retired normal and former head of Israel’s army intelligence, mentioned the federal government’s problem was once to meet the immense public force both to go back the hostages safely and wipe out Hamas. He insisted the 2 objectives might be reconciled if the federal government reveals the “right strategy.”
“Both should be handled simultaneously and should support each other,” Yadlin said, without elaborating.
But many experts believe the best strategy to save hostages remains diplomacy.
Hamas on Saturday offered Israel an exchange — the release of all hostages in Gaza for all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The plight of the prisoners is deeply emotional for Palestinians, who widely see the prisoners as freedom fighters.
Israel has a long history of agreeing to lopsided prisoner swaps. In 2011, it freed over 1,000 prisoners in exchange for Gilad Schalit, a soldier who was kidnapped and dragged across the border into Gaza. Many of those prisoners, including Hamas’ top leader in Gaza, Yehiya Sinwar, had been convicted in the killings of Israelis.
“If the enemy wants to end this case at once, we are ready for that,” mentioned Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing.
Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari was evasive. He said Hamas was engaged in the “cynical exploitation” of the anxieties gripping the Israeli public.
But families who saw four women released to Israel last week following complex hostage diplomacy said they weren’t convinced that the Israeli government had their best interests in mind.
“They feel like they’re left behind and no one is really caring about them,” said Miki Haimovitz, a former lawmaker who spoke on behalf of the hostages’ families at Saturday’s protest. “No one is explaining what’s happening.”