From the Liveblog of
Sunday, December 3, 2023
Ex-Mossad chief Cohen: IDF ground op in south Gaza ‘will be much more complicated’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
Ex-Mossad chief Yossi Cohen says that the IDF ground operation in south Gaza will be trickier considering the extremely dense population of civilians, especially due to those who fled fighting in north Gaza.
“The evaucation of civilians in south Gaza will be much more complicated,” Cohen says in an interview with Channel 12 news. “This doesn’t give us much room to play.”
He says such a reality “makes it harder for us,” noting also international pressure and US concern on the protection of civilians.
Cohen says it is “difficult to say how long things will take” until the end of the war. “The war will end when Hamas won’t fire at us at all… and when it has no more military capabilities.”
He says that he is “convinced… that there was one thing that convinced Hamas to talk to us, which is the massive IDF air and ground operation,” and therefore he believes the return to fighting is the “right thing” to return the rest of the hostages, “and we will not give up until the very last hostage is in our hands.”
Cohen adds that Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar “sees what he has already lost,” saying that Israel “must get to him… this man should not exist.”
He also says that Israel “does not want to take full control of Gaza after the war,” but that there may be some security presence, he says that Palestinian leadership and Arab nations may also play a role in ruling the Strip in the future, but that the Palestinian Authority cannot do so alone.
The Times of Israel Community.