PM says weighing plan for siege on Hamas in north Gaza; believes half of hostages alive
During closed-door meeting with lawmakers, Netanyahu argues putting pressure on Hezbollah could help force Hamas’s Sinwar to the table, predicts ICC arrest warrants coming soon
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told lawmakers on Monday that he is weighing the so-called generals’ plan to lay siege to northern Gaza, promoted by a group of senior IDF reservists.
Speaking to members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, the prime minister also said that only some half of the 97 hostages abducted on October 7 are alive, Hebrew media reports said and a committee member confirmed to The Times of Israel. “We estimate that about half of the hostages are alive,” he was quoted by Channel 12 as saying.
His statements would indicate that around 50 hostages could be dead. The IDF has only confirmed the deaths of 33 of those still in Gaza.
Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, on Monday contradicted Netanyahu’s reported assessment, telling Army Radio that the number is much lower. “We know, the families, that the number is far smaller than the number cited by the prime minister,” she said. Zangauker said all the families receive information on the status of their loved ones, including signs of life. On the basis of that information, she said, “there are no more than 30 to 35 hostages” still alive.
At the closed-door session, Netanyahu indicated that the plan for a siege on remaining Hamas forces is one of several being examined and which will be brought to the cabinet for further discussion in the coming days.
Presenting the scheme to the committee last week, retired Maj. Gen. Giora Eiland argued that the plan, which is not backed by the United States, would “change the reality” on the ground in Gaza.
“We have to tell the residents of north Gaza that they have one week to evacuate the territory, which then becomes a military zone, [a zone] in which every figure is a target and, most importantly, no supplies enter this territory.
Eiland argued that a siege is not only an effective military tactic but is also compliant with international law. “What matters to [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar is land and dignity, and with this maneuver, you take away both land and dignity,” he said.
Eiland has been critical of Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza, telling The Times of Israel last week that as long as Hamas retains control over the distribution of food and fuel, it will be able to replenish its coffers and recruit new fighters.
“You can’t win a war while this is the situation in Gaza,” he said. “The slogan that ‘only military pressure will bring victory’ has no basis whatsoever. The wars of the 21st century are based on something else. The most important parameter is the population, and those who can control the population win the war.”
Netanyahu told the committee that controlling the distribution of humanitarian aid is key to winning in Gaza and that efforts to enlist local tribes had failed. As such, he said enacting a military regime to run affairs in the territory may be necessary for now, even if it is not his goal.
Likud MK Amit Halevi, a member of the committee, welcomed the Eiland plan, saying that it marked “the right direction” for Israeli policy in Gaza.
“In order to defeat Hamas we must control the land and the population. There is no other way to victory,” he told The Times of Israel, arguing that unless Hamas’s civil control is eliminated, the terror group will be able to continue to recruit new fighters.
Such an approach is also “the only chance for a hostage deal” because it will put additional pressure on Sinwar to come to the table and make concessions, he argued.
“If he has food for years and the international pressure is on Israel, why does he need to make a deal?” Halevi said.
According to sources familiar with Sunday’s discussion, Netanyahu declined to address New Hope MK Gideon Sa’ar’s announcement Saturday that he had declined the prime minister’s offer to take over the role of defense minister, replacing Yoav Gallant.
In a statement on Saturday evening, the chairman of the hawkish opposition party said he could not take up the position amid the significant escalation of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon — although he argued that despite critics’ claims, he was qualified for the job.
Netanyahu predicted that the International Criminal Court (ICC) was likely to soon issue arrest warrants for Gallant and him.
Earlier this month, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan called on the court to issue arrest warrants he requested in May for Netanyahu, Gallant and leaders of Hamas “with utmost urgency.”
Khan is a “political guided missile,” Netanyahu told lawmakers.
He also denied standing in the way of a Gaza hostage deal, insisting that Hamas is the intransigent party, having demanded 29 revisions to a proposed ceasefire outline, while asserting that Israel had accepted all the conditions laid out by American mediators.
Netanyahu has been widely reported to have added new conditions to those proposed by the Americans, including Israel holding on the Gaza-Egypt border in the first stage of a ceasefire and hostage deal. But US officials have also indicated that Hamas demands remain a major stumbling block to an agreement.
According to Hebrew media reports, the prime minister slammed “fake reports” that he was responsible for preventing an agreement and said that Hamas does not currently want a ceasefire deal. “We are doing everything we can to bring out 30 living hostages in the first phase of a deal,” he was quoted as saying.
He also raised a new idea for a deal that he said had come up in internal discussions, under which Israel would agree to a series of brief ceasefires in Gaza, with a small number of hostages to be freed in each, Channel 12 news reported.
He also reportedly argued that putting pressure on Hezbollah in the north could help force Sinwar to the table.
Ongoing battle against Hezbollah
Addressing the current upsurge in hostilities against Hezbollah, he said, “We are talking about distancing Hezbollah from the border and degrading its capabilities. This is not a one-off event. We will continue, but would prefer not to get to all-out war.”
Netanyahu’s remarks at the Knesset came only hours after he released a video statement vowing that the Hezbollah would “get the message” after a series of dramatic operations against the Iran-backed terror group in recent days.
Hezbollah expanded its range of rocket attacks in the early hours of Sunday to hit the greater Haifa area and the Jezreel Valley, putting some two million Israelis in range of its strikes.
The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday that some 150 rockets, cruise missiles, and drones had been fired and launched at Israel since Saturday evening.
Yesh Atid MK Moshe Tur-Paz said he’d asked Netanyahu during the hearing to define the link between operations in Israel’s north and Gaza — and requested to know when the hostages would be returned and the residents of the north able to go back to their homes.
“The prime minister did not answer this question,” he stated.
