A former head of the Israeli army’s Hostages and Missing Persons Command says Israel prolonged the war on Gaza unnecessarily and could have brought some captives home alive through earlier negotiations.
Major General Nitzan Alon said that after 7 October , Israel “conducted a long war that could have ended at least a year earlier,” adding that some captives could have “been returned alive.”
“Strategically, we could have achieved the same results or avoided failing to achieve those we did not achieve – such as disarming Hamas, and so on. We paid a heavy price in soldiers killed, perhaps even some hostages killed, immense costs in blood and money that were not necessary,” Alon said.
Alon also criticised Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, saying he was “the one who opposed some of the agreements at various stages and I do not think he can take credit for the return of all the hostages.”
“The cabinet and the political leadership rejected earlier comprehensive deals – in the name of that same 'total victory,' which is a falsehood" he said.
