Defeating Hamas requires the occupation of the Gaza Strip – a task that will take only take a few months, not years, former IDF General Yiftah Ron-Tal believes.
In an interview with Akiva Novick and Rina Matzliach, Ron-Tal explained that encircling the Gaza Strip is a necessary step toward victory, adding, “A raid is a tactical move, but that’s not how you win a war.”
Ron-Tal dismissed the “piles of interpretations in the newspapers,” as he referred to them, and addressed the question of why the move had not yet been carried out: “Under the panic and shock of October 7th, there was a poor plan that didn’t allow us to achieve the goal – defeating Hamas.”
He also emphasized that no rational deal can be made with the Hamas terror group.
“We’re negotiating with ourselves. Hamas isn’t willing to make a deal. It’s good for theoretics,” he said, detailing Hamas’s hidden demands.
According to Ron-Tal, in exchange for the release of hostages, Hamas demands the complete end of the war with international guarantees not only from the US and the UN Security Council, a total withdrawal without any perimeter, and a return to the October 6th lines. The terror group also demands a completely open Gaza with no crossings or borders and the release of terrorists with blood on their hands – including those responsible for the “Nukhba” attack. Hamas insists on remaining in power, and demands that the rate of hostages’ release of hostages be dependent solely on the pace of Gaza’s reconstruction.
“No Israeli citizen could agree to such terms,” he concluded.