JERUSALEM/ANKARA

Israel’s military pressure is useless in freeing Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip, a former army commander said on Sunday.

"It is important to emphasize that the ultimate goal is to bring all hostages back,” retired General Noam Tibon, who is also a brother of an Israeli captive in Gaza, told Maariv newspaper.

“For a year and a half, we were told that military pressure alone would bring the hostages back, but during this time, 41 hostages were killed by Hamas or in airstrikes by Israeli forces. In the end, it was a deal that brought the hostages home."

“This deal also had a second phase, but (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu decided not to implement it due to political reasons, coalition interests, and budgetary considerations,” he added.

On March 25, the Israeli Knesset (parliament) passed the state budget worth 620 billion shekels ($167.32 billion) by 66-52 votes.

Before approving the budget, the Israeli government agreed to reinstate ministers from the Otzma Yehudit Party, led by far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, who had resigned in January in protest of a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas.

Tibon stressed that Hamas had fulfilled its commitments under the deal and released captives during the first phase.

“If Israel wants to bring back the hostages, the deal is the way,” he added.

Tel Aviv estimates that there are 59 Israeli hostages in Gaza, 24 of whom are alive, while more than 9,500 Palestinians are imprisoned in Israel, suffering from torture, starvation, and medical neglect, which has led to the deaths of many, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.

More than 50,600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in Israel's military onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.