ISTANBUL

The Israeli government will not end its war on Gaza even if Hamas released all the Oct. 7 captives, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said. 

Hanegbi’s comments came during a meeting with the families of the Israeli hostages. He said that a “stage one” deal for the return of hostages, classified under humanitarian grounds, could be reached soon, according to broadcaster Channel 12 and the daily Times of Israel.

However, Hanegbi reportedly told the families: "This government will not take a decision to stop the war for the return of all the hostages."

He also reportedly acknowledged the lack of an alternative plan if the hostages were not returned within the expected timeframe.

“If the hostages don’t return within weeks or a few short months, we have no alternate plan. We will continue to fight in Gaza and the north, and only then will we reassess,” he said.

Hamas had accepted a cease-fire proposal, drawn by Egypt and Qatar, earlier this month but Israel rejected the draft and decided to launch a ground offensive in the southern city of Rafah.

Israel seeks a temporary cease-fire while maintaining its military presence in Gaza, while Hamas insists on ending the war, Israeli troop withdrawal, allowing displaced Palestinians to return to their areas, and bringing in sufficient humanitarian aid as part of any prisoner swap deal.

Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, had captured around 239 individuals, according to Israeli media estimates, during a surprise incursion launched on military sites and settlements adjacent to Gaza on Oct 7, 2023.

Israel reports that 121 of these captives remain in Gaza, while Hamas said on May 26 that it had captured more Israeli soldiers during an operation in Gaza, without disclosing a specific number. The claim was dismissed by Israel.

Through the mediation of Qatar, Egypt, and the US, Hamas and Israel have been engaged in indirect negotiations for months, aiming to reach an agreement to swap hostages and end the war in Gaza.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 36,240 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and over 81,777 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio