Israel’s government has admitted to a” full loss” in preventing Hamas’s deadly October 7, 2023, attack, acknowledging optimism and misjudgments about the militant team’s features. The inner sensor, released on Thursday, comes as a fragile peace approaches its initial stage date.
The October 7 assault, which saw Hamas insurgents negligence Israel’s threats and shoot over 1, 200 people, was the deadliest in the world’s history. The Jewish army’s reaction resulted in more than 48, 000 deaths in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health department.
” I bear the burden”
A military official presentation writers on the results, speaking secretly, said,” Also some residents died that morning asking themselves in their emotions or out loud, where was the IDF”? Another senior military official admitted that the army had been “overconfident” and underestimated Hamas’s military strength.
Following the report’s release, Israel’s military chief General Herzi Halevi stated,” The responsibility is mine”. Halevi had previously left last month, citing the failure of October 7.
Truce talks in Cairo
A temporary halt to the fighting has been brought to an end by the ceasefire, which first came into effect on January 19, but a second phase aimed at ending the war permanently has not been agreed upon. However, negotiations are underway in Cairo, where Israeli and Qatari officials, along with US representatives, have gathered.
Just two days before the first phase of the cease-fire, Hamas released the remains of four hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to send negotiators. ” We’re making a lot of progress. Israel is sending a team right now as we speak”, US envoy Steve Witkoff said in Washington.
Hostage-prisoner exchange
As part of the truce, Hamas has freed 25 Israeli and dual-national hostages, along with five Thai prisoners, while Israel is expected to release around 1, 900 Palestinian detainees. According to Israel’s Prison Service, “643 terrorists were transferred from a number of national prisons as part of the agreement.”
Among the released prisoners is Nael Barghouti, the longest-serving Palestinian inmate, who spent over four decades in jail for the murder of an Israeli officer. Some previously released Israeli hostages appeared emaciated, raising questions about their conditions in captivity, while some freed Palestinian prisoners were taken to hospitals in Khan Yunis for medical evaluations.
A very difficult day, to put it mildly.
The identities of the four hostages whose remains were returned were confirmed as Ohad Yahalomi, Tsachi Idan, Itzik Elgarat, and Shlomo Mansour. Netanyahu’s office stated that Yahalomi, Idan, and Elgarat were “murdered while held hostage in Gaza”, while Mansour was killed on October 7.
Israel Berman, a former member of the Nahal Oz kibbutz where Idan was abducted, said,” Until the very last moment, we were hoping that Tsachi would return to us alive… This morning brought us the troubling news. It’s a very tough day”.
Uncertain future for the ceasefire
Despite ongoing negotiations, Netanyahu faces domestic criticism for his handling of the war and the hostage situation. Members of his coalition are eager to resume military operations. Of the 251 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 58 remain in Gaza, with 34 confirmed dead, according to the Israeli military.
Meanwhile, the war has devastated Gaza, with the UN reporting that over 69 percent of its buildings have been damaged or destroyed, nearly the entire population displaced, and severe hunger gripping the region.
