IDF chief says military is creating all the pressure needed on Hamas for hostage deal
Halevi’s remarks follow PM’s criticism; he also vows IDF can ‘return and fight with great intensity’ after truce, says he’ll consider quitting over Oct. 7 once war’s goals achieved
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
PALMACHIM AIRBASE — Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said Sunday that a deal with Hamas that would see the release of hostages in exchange for a ceasefire, the possible Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the release of Palestinian security prisoners was a moral imperative, and that the military would be capable of handling its implications.
“An agreement for the return of the hostages is an urgent moral imperative to save lives,” he said at a press conference at the Palmachim Airbase in central Israel.
“The IDF is creating all the pressure required to create the best conditions for such an agreement, and this is how we have acted since the end of the previous agreement” — a weeklong truce-hostage release in November — said Halevi in a riposte to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Saturday night, Netanyahu charged that “for months there was no progress [toward a hostage deal] because the military pressure was not strong enough,” and that that only changed when he insisted that the IDF go into Rafah.
Netanyahu has also been accused by critics of repeatedly undermining negotiation efforts.
“The IDF will know how to abide by any agreement that is approved by the political echelon, and even after a ceasefire, to return and fight with great intensity,” Halevi said.
“The IDF will not stop working to free the hostages, those for whom time passes with great difficulty, and we will not give up on continuing to attack Hamas until this goal is achieved, and of course, we will not give up on achieving security for the citizens of the State of Israel,” Halevi added.
Not resigning mid-war
During his press conference, Halevi spoke on a wide range of topics concerning the IDF since war broke out on October 7, when Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping 251.
Halevi said he would decide whether to resign in light of the military’s failure to prevent the October 7 massacre once the objectives of the war have been achieved.
“I have been serving in the IDF for almost 40 years. Not one moment in my service involved clinging to a chair. I am currently busy with the tasks: dismantling Hamas, returning the hostages, creating security for residents at the borders,” Halevi said in response to a question during the press conference.
“I have expressed my responsibility on several occasions, and these words also have a practical meaning, it is very clear to me,” he added, implying that he was seriously considering resigning. “We do not leave tasks in the middle. When we complete the tasks, I will make my decisions.”
Regarding Saturday’s airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip targeting Muhammed Deif, the leader of Hamas’s military wing and one of the masterminds behind October 7, Halevi said it was still too early to determine if Deif, who had evaded numerous Israeli assassination attempts over the past 30 years, was successfully eliminated.
“Muhammed was afraid to die, so he hid in a way that even harmed his ability to command. He hid and sacrificed with him his people and civilians who were in the area, who were in danger, very few of whom were harmed,” Halevi said. “We found him. We will also find the next ones in line.”
“These assassinations are part of the continuous and changing military pressure that the IDF exerts in all parts of the Gaza Strip. Every day, there are many Hamas deaths… This is important for the systematic dismantling of the Hamas terror organization. It is also very important for the creation of conditions for an agreement for the return of the hostages,” he added.
Probing October 7
Regarding inquiries into October 7, Halevi said the process has already begun, mentioning the investigation into the battle in Be’eri where 132 Israelis were killed and 32 were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists.
“The findings of the inquiry are difficult and painful. Alongside them, we found many displays of heroism and courage of many residents, soldiers, and commanders, who protected the people of the kibbutz with their bodies while sacrificing their own lives without end,” he said.
“I have nothing but enormous appreciation for the soldiers who fought on October 7. I salute them and the bravery they displayed during long hours of fighting, in very difficult conditions and facing huge complexities. Amid such complex combat, mistakes were made, decisions were made, some of them fatal, from which we learn and will continue to learn,” he added, likely referring to the decision made by Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram to have a tank fire shells near a home where hostages were being held captive by terrorists.
“It is not possible to act in such a reality without making mistakes. I am very proud to be the commander of those soldiers and commanders. Every heroic deed they did is theirs; in every mistake they made, I have a part,” Halevi said.
Also on the topic of the military’s inquiries into the October 7 catastrophe, Halevi said, “The claims that someone in the IDF knew what was going to happen that morning and concealed it are completely unfounded. Unfortunately, there is not a soldier or commander in the IDF who knew what was going to happen on the morning of October 7. The warnings that did exist, we are examining in depth.”
He was apparently referring to unfounded claims that the military could have prevented the October 7 slaughter but chose not to.
“The purpose of the operational inquiry is first and foremost for learning and correction and is not a substitute for an external examination mechanism when it will be appointed. Needless to say, we will fully cooperate with such a mechanism, and the operational inquiries will be able to contribute a lot, as was the case in past wars,” Halevi said, referring to a possible state commission of inquiry to investigate October 7 onslaught and the failures surrounding it.
Despite calls from several opposition lawmakers, as well as Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Netanyahu has insisted that an investigation determining the culpability of the government cannot take place while the war in Gaza is ongoing. He has also been non-committal on establishing a state commission — the investigatory body with the greatest powers — indicating that other formats may be appropriate.
“When we complete all the inquiries, we will have the overall picture, then we will be able to conclude all the lessons and also personal conclusions,” Halevi said, referring to criticism that the probe into the onslaught and battle at Be’eri did not come to conclusions regarding individual officers.
“These are days of war for our existence here and for our future. We don’t have the right to stop for a moment, we have the determination and we have the patience,” he added.
Lebanon preparations
Halevi added that the IDF was prepared for “the next stage in Lebanon” as hostilities between Israel and the terror group Hezbollah continue to escalate.
“We are in high-intensity combat in the north. Along with increasing achievements in degrading Hezbollah, we do not forget for a moment the plight of the residents of the north in the last nine months; We grieve at all times for the dead and injured from Hezbollah attacks,” he said.
“In the last few days, I was in one of the communities close to the border, of course not for the first time. I saw the damage, I met with the leadership there, I heard difficult things from them — we translate this difficulty into determination in combat, and later into real solutions and the return of the residents in security to their homes,” he said.
Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza during the war there.
So far, the skirmishes have resulted in 12 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 17 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 366 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 66 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have been killed.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
