Hostages or Hamas? Cracks spread in Israeli unity over war aims.
| TEL AVIV, Israel
Mass demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu鈥檚 government rocked Israel for most of last year, before the outbreak of war.
They are now coming back, albeit smaller and quieter so far, demanding one thing: Secure the release of the remaining Israeli hostages seized by Hamas during its Oct. 7 rampage.
Immediately.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onFrom the outset, Israel鈥檚 twin war goals in Gaza of rescuing hostages and defeating Hamas have been hard to reconcile. As the United States and others try to mediate a new cease-fire/hostage deal with Hamas, do Israelis know what victory looks like?
On a recent cold Saturday night in Tel Aviv, in a main plaza renamed 鈥淗ostages Square,鈥� Shira Albag, the mother of 18-year-old captive Liri, addressed a sea of numb and tearful protesters holding placards with the faces of those 136 Israelis still held in Gaza.
鈥淥nly if we return all of our hostages home will we be able to feel a sense of victory,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he hourglass is running out.鈥�
鈥淣ow, now, now,鈥� the crowd chanted, directing their anger at the government for not doing enough, and not willing to 鈥減ay any price鈥� for the safe return of their loved ones.
Nearly four months into Israel鈥檚 retaliatory offensive against Hamas in Gaza, the twin goals set out by Israel 鈥� 鈥渄estroying鈥� the militant organization as the governing and military power in the territory, and releasing all of the hostages 鈥� have yet to be achieved.
And for the first time since the start of the war, many in Israel 鈥� including opposition politicians and key media figures 鈥� have begun to question what victory would even look like.
The hostages, as near-weekly videos released by Hamas have shown, are being held in harsh conditions, and may not survive further time in captivity. Israeli intelligence even believes that Hamas leadership, located deep in underground tunnels below Gaza, is using them as human shields, making elimination of the leadership and rescue of the hostages into incompatible military goals.
Stop 鈥渟elling fantasies鈥�
The cracks in what had been near universal public unity supporting Israel鈥檚 war aims in the conflict鈥檚 first few months have even reached the five-person wartime Cabinet tasked with prosecuting the campaign against Hamas.
In a bombshell television interview on Israel鈥檚 Channel 12 this month, Gadi Eisenkot, a centrist politician and former military chief who joined Mr. Netanyahu鈥檚 wartime coalition in October, said the welfare of the hostages had to take precedence.
The government, he added, needed to stop 鈥渟elling fantasies鈥� to the public that their release would be achieved through force alone.
鈥淲e should say bravely that it is impossible to return the hostages alive in the near future without an agreement [with Hamas],鈥� Mr. Eisenkot said, including countenancing a halt to the fighting for a 鈥渟ignificant鈥� period of time as part of any such deal.
Analysts question what 鈥渟ignificant鈥� time would actually entail, as Hamas has consistently demanded that any new deal lead to a permanent cease-fire (in addition to the release of possibly thousands of Palestinians from Israeli prisons, many held on serious terror offenses).
Mr. Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and the top military brass have so far been consistent: Israel is still striving, as the prime minister continues to insist, for 鈥渢otal victory.鈥� Senior Israeli officials maintain that only military power will lead to the hostages鈥� release.
"The long-term agreements with Hamas [in the past] had only one reason: They understood that they might pay a military price,鈥� says one senior Israeli military official. 鈥淭his is the effect of pressure. We need to use military force.鈥� Having only conversations 鈥渟imply won't work.鈥�
Negotiations in Paris
And yet negotiations in a bid to halt the conflict are exactly what the United States and other mediators are trying to pursue. Over the weekend, Israel鈥檚 top two spy chiefs met with CIA Director Bill Burns and senior Egyptian and Qatari officials in Paris for talks over a multistage cease-fire deal that would see the release of the hostages.
A senior Israeli official described the talks as 鈥渃onstructive ... but significant gaps remain鈥� 鈥� primarily the question of how to bridge Israel鈥檚 purported offer of a two-month truce with Hamas鈥� continued demand for a full cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
Israeli leaders have made clear they intend to continue their offensive on the other side of any stoppage in fighting, similar to the weeklong truce concluded in late November that saw the release of over 100 Israeli hostages and 240 Palestinian prisoners.
Fighting in Gaza resumed almost immediately after the truce collapsed, with Israeli forces now operating in the southern city of Khan Yunis after a large-scale ground incursion that reduced swaths of northern Gaza to rubble.
Analysts question whether Mr. Netanyahu has the political space for any halt to the war, given that his key far-right coalition allies, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have opposed any such move.
鈥淚n favor of returning the hostages, against an awful deal,鈥� Mr. Ben-Gvir posted last week on聽X, formerly known as Twitter, amid reports of renewed international mediation.
Yet, similar to Mr. Eisenkot, government critics contend that the moment may have arrived where Israel indeed has to make such a choice.
鈥淭he two goals of the war are in conflict,鈥� asserted Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, the former head of Israeli military intelligence, in a recent call with reporters. 鈥淚n the first deal [with Hamas last November] military pressure was necessary. Now it鈥檚 not necessarily helping return the hostages.鈥�
Most support continuing war
And yet despite mounting concern from all corners of Israeli society over the plight of the hostages, some 60% of Jewish Israelis would oppose any hostage release deal that required halting the war and releasing all Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, according to a poll published last week by the Israel Democracy Institute.
Mr. Netanyahu himself, in a press conference Saturday, appeared to criticize the hostage families themselves for protesting too loudly, arguing that it 鈥渙nly strengthens Hamas鈥� demands and pushes the goal [of the hostages鈥� release] further away.鈥�
The prime minister again reiterated his 鈥渃ommitment to win a total victory,鈥� and lashed out at those 鈥渧oices of the weak鈥� inside Israel that 鈥渁re trying to sow doubt, despondency, and pessimism鈥� regarding the country鈥檚 ability to do so.
According to one person with knowledge of Mr. Netanyahu鈥檚 thinking, he is preparing for upcoming snap elections that are now being anticipated across the political spectrum, as even Mr. Eisenkot hinted in his television interview.
The hostage families, along with the traditional anti-Netanyahu protest groups, have vowed to increase their public demonstrations. They have also begun blocking the main highway just outside Tel Aviv, a move taken straight from last year鈥檚 mass protests.
鈥淕od willing, together we will win,鈥� Mr. Netanyahu said Saturday night at the close of his press conference, in a wink to the unofficial national tagline for the war that he has arrogated for himself. The growing sense in Israel is that unity, let alone victory, is further away than ever.
