Hostage bodies returned, IDF reaction

"The Result Will Be That We Will Receive 5 Hostages Alive"

Former Central Command and Ground Forces Chief, Major General (res.) Avi Mizrahi, criticized the government following the return of the 6 hostages' bodies, stating that the Philadelphi Route is not Israel's main issue.

Hostage posters (Photo: Jose HERNANDEZ/ Shutterstock)

In an interview with Radio 103FM, he said: "Everything has already been said. We keep repeating ourselves in interviews and posts. I don't think the question of whether we abandoned the hostages or not is one that should be asked. The results, unfortunately, speak for themselves, against us, at this stage of life. The state abandons the hostages, has abandoned them, and will continue to abandon them, and the result will be that at the end of the day, we will receive 5 hostages alive in a month, two, or maybe three, and we will pay all the prices we were supposed to pay. We understand that this government is leading us to doom. If 2 million people don’t take to the streets to overthrow the worst government in the country's history and this situation continues, there will be no state left."

He continued: "If I believed that this government truly considers current and future Israeli security and makes its decisions with as much clean consideration as possible, free from other political, coalition, or governmental considerations to maintain power at any cost, I would say that it is a correct and wise strategic outlook for the country's defense now and in the future. But we understand, a large public in Israel, including former and current security heads, including its defense minister who, as far as I understand, is from Likud, are saying different things. Philadelphi has become our existential rock. The smuggling that comes from there does not start there. It starts much earlier with the arrival of arms to Sinai. Want to stop the smuggling? Act in Sinai."

"I'm not saying that the route is not important. If you look at what is at stake, Philadelphi versus the hostages, I say, return the hostages alive. We don’t think anything will happen on or under the route for six weeks so that we can leave there to allow the first and second deals. If you say you are looking at Israeli security and the future, I cannot accept that because there are also attacks today. They are achieving what they wanted. The West Bank is on fire, which is what Smotrich is expecting, Gog and Magog, and they think that this will solve Israel's problems. It’s not true."

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