For the third time since the war started, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met today (Sunday) met with families of the captives, telling them of all the efforts being made to bring their loved ones back home. Gal Hirsch, the governmental envoy on captives, also participated in the meeting.
At the meeting, the Defense Minister listed the different ways the government was seeking to free the captives, including the ground actions and the intelligence and operational efforts.
“We are committed to returning the hostages whether in a deal or in operational activity”
Gallant stressed the commitment to bring the captives home from Hamas captivity: “we are committed to bringing your loved ones home by any means – it doesn’t matter whether in operational activity or in a deal. In this war, the whole defense establishment is dealing with just two things – defeating Hamas and returning the hostages.”
According to Gallant, “on October 7, Hamas banked on Israel stopping, breaking, and not reacting – what happened was the exact opposite. We are searching for every way to bring back our people. Hamas is looking for a way to stop the IDF – applying military pressure brings us closer to the goal.”
He ended by stressing the importance of military pressure and the price Hamas has paid. “What started to move Hamas is the understanding that they are paying costs. I’ve known Hamas for decades – only military pressure will help us. We have no timetable for the war, we will continue until we bring the hostages.”
