Eisenkot: Pausing Rafah offensive for sake of a hostage deal is the right thing to do

MK Gadi Eisenkot, who is an observer in the war cabinet, has reportedly told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee that Israel should suspend its offensive in Rafah for as long as is necessary to secure the release of the hostages through a deal with Hamas.

According to Hebrew media reports, Eisenkot told the committee that the correct thing to do in the Gaza Strip is to “reach the end of the fighting in Rafah and at the same time, move forward with hostage deal, in which we will cease fighting for as long as it takes.”

“Just as we stopped for a truce last time, we can suspend the fighting and return to it for as long as it takes to achieve the goals of the war,” Eisenkot is said to have told the committee, referring to the weeklong truce in late November that brought about the release of 105 hostages.