Tel Aviv: Former Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was held hostage by Hamas from 2006 to 2011, met with the families of the current hostages. Israeli media reported that Gilad Shalit expressed his support to relatives and reassured the hostages that they would survive.
37-year-old Shalit was captured by Hamas in 2006. He was released in 2011 after Israel released 1,000 Palestinians who had been unjustly imprisoned. In exchange for Gilad Shalit, the way was opened for the release of Yahya Sinwar, one of the prominent leaders of Hamas.
Israel agreed to the prisoner exchange following years of popular protests demanding Gilad’s release. It was the largest prisoner exchange in Israel’s history.
Hamas is demanding the release of more than 10,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons in order to release the more than 100 hostages currently held by Hamas. They also demand an end to the war against Gaza once and for all. Israel has already killed more than 24,000 Palestinians, including women and children, in the war that began on October 7. The number of injured exceeded 60000.
Channel 12 reported that Gilad Shalit told the relatives of the abductees on October 7 that their loved ones would return and they could live a happy life.
Meanwhile, Israel’s former reserve general, Itzhak Brick, said Israel had lost the 100-day war without being able to free hostages or eliminate Hamas. In an interview with Channel 13, Itzhak Brik said in an interview with Channel 13 that the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel and the announcement of a cease-fire would enable the release of hostages, and that the withdrawal of ground forces from Khan Younis would help reduce the number of soldiers killed.
‘The coming phase of the war against Gaza will be extremely difficult for Israel. To avoid paying a heavy price, Israel must change its war strategy. In the third phase of the war, Khan must withdraw from Yunis and the camps in central Gaza. “Israel should besiege Gaza from the outside and infiltrate Hamas forces with the help of intelligence,” Brik suggested.
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2024-01-18 07:10:04
