IDF chief said to tell parents of soldier-hostages: As more time passes, I’m not sure there’ll be anyone to bring home

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi has reportedly told parents of soldiers who are held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, living and dead, that he is “not sure there will be anyone to bring home” as time passes without a deal, and that he has underlined this concern to the “political echelon.”

According to Channel 12 news, Halevi made the comments in a conversation yesterday with the parents of several soldiers who are held hostage in Gaza.

The TV channel reports several brief excerpts from the interaction, as follows:

First parent: “Military pressure is killing the hostages. We fear that our children will also come back as bodies, like the six hostages who were executed [by their captors two weeks ago]. We’re not prepared to have the IDF approach an area where the child is held.”

Second parent: “You are my son’s commander. You are also endangering my son, because if there is a chance of bringing him out in a deal, you have to protect him. We are not interested in [IDF] rescue operations. We and our children will not be able to live in peace if soldiers die in a rescue operation. We don’t want another Arnon Zmora” — an IDF officer who was killed in a June operation in which four hostages were rescued alive.

Third parent: “The responsibility is on you. You are the commander who sent him into battle. He is alive and you have to bring him back alive. And if other considerations are directing you, than that’s on your hands.”

Halevi, in response: “We will always be able to fight Hamas. Returning the hostages becomes more difficult the more time passes, and I’m not sure there’ll be anyone to return. I’ve said this to the political echelon as well.”

“So long as there is no hostage deal, we will act as much as possible to bring home the hostages. Still, we won’t be able to bring them all via military operations. We will make every effort to bring home as many as possible.”

“We are investing a great deal of effort to establish where the hostages are, and taking considerable risks as well to gather intelligence in a responsible way.”

“As regards ending the war, I can’t tell you when that will happen. We are not near the end. I think that if we don’t fight and pressure Hamas, it will take its time and it’ll be a lot harder to bring home hostages.”

“An agreement for the return of hostages is a government decision. We are doing everything to create the best conditions. That’s our responsibility to your children, I remember, and we are working in every way to return them.”