'We will not leave Gaza until all the hostages are brought back home,' says Israeli defense minister
Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant met with IDF soldiers from various units operating in the Gaza Strip on Saturday.
He entered Gaza by sea on a naval vessel, together with the Commander of the Israeli Navy Vice-Adm. David Sa’ar Salma.
The defense minister toured the northern coast and received a briefing on the troops’ activities during operations, as well as the security measures taken during the pause.
Gallant addressed the release of Israeli hostages on Friday and the importance of IDF operations to continue to put pressure on the Hamas terror group.
“Our ability to bring home the first group of hostages is the result of military pressure. As soon as military pressure is applied, they [Hamas] want a break," Gallant said.
"When you increase the pressure, they want another break. When you increase the pressure even more, they are ready to come forward with an offer, and when you increase it even more, they are read to come with an acceptable offer – that’s the whole method,” he explained.
“We cannot leave Gaza and stop the war until we reach a situation in which we bring back all the hostages – because we have many more [held captive].”
In his meeting with the soldiers, Gallant said: “There is a direct correlation between your actions and the elimination of the enemy [Hamas] and also between your actions and our ability to bring back the hostages – that’s the process. The timeframe for the pause is short – it won’t take weeks, it will take days – a little more, a little less – any further negotiations will be held under fire. That is, they want to continue discussing the next time [the next pause] – it will be held while our forces are fighting – that’s the basis [for any pause].”
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
