Gallant tells hostage families of need to convert military pressure to deal to bring home captives

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tells family members of the hostages being held in Gaza that Israel needs to translate the gains of its military pressure into a deal that will bring the captives home.

The entire defense establishment sees the return of the hostages as the main goal to be pursued, to do everything we can to take advantage of the situation that has been created,” he says.

“The military pressure has created conditions that allow us to move forward with a deal, the military will know how to halt and how to return to combat as needed,” Gallant says. “We need to take advantage of the military pressure to push forward with a deal and not to miss it.”

His comments come after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday said Israel would not accept a deal with Hamas unless it was guaranteed to allow the IDF to return to fighting after the first phase.

Critics saw Netanyahu’s comments, on the eve of the resumption of talks, as a bid to sabotage the progress.