Gallant: If Israel returns to war, there will be no captives to return

Former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel would make a mistake if it returned to fighting to destroy Hamas in Gaza before bringing back the Israeli captives.

In his first first public appearance in the United States, Gallant addressed the second phase of the prisoner exchange deal with Hamas, saying: “There is an order to return the prisoners in order to achieve the goals of the war.”

“I am the last person who would oppose the complete destruction of Hamas, but if we eliminate Hamas before returning the hostages, we simply will not have hostages to return.”

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“First, the Israeli hostages must be returned, and then we will continue to completely destroy Hamas,” he added, noting that “even if Israel is not interested in fighting Hamas forever, we will have to do so for a long time.”

His statements came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has put new demands before moving into the second phase of the ceasefire talks with Hamas.

The first phase of the ceasefire agreement ended on Saturday.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for both Netanyahu and Gallant for the conduct of the war on Gaza. The US has not agreed to comply with the ICC’s call for their arrest.

Hamas has said the only way the Israeli captives held in Gaza will be released through negotiations and an end to the war on the enclave.

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