Despite the transfer of the weight of the campaign and the IDF effort to the northern front, the State of Israel hasn’t abandoned the southern front, and does not forget the hostages. Division 162 is still operating in the Rafah and the Philadelphi Route, and the IDF continues to hold the Netzarim road in the center of the Gaza Strip, and to maintain a buffer zone along the entire Gaza Strip border.
Israel continues to try to advance negotiations to release the 101 hostages that are left in Hamas’ hands, but the talks seem to be stuck in a dead end. U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby hung the collar of the blame on Sinwar and Hamas: “Sinwar seems to be completely uninterested and willing to continue negotiating with Israel in good faith, especially after he murdered, or rather executed, six hostages in Rafah,” Kirby said in a statement. “He doesn’t want to move forward, but that doesn’t mean we’re not trying.” The hope is that the military pressure on Hezbollah, and the appearance of an Israeli victory on the northern front, will help advance Sinwar toward a deal.
And if we are dealing with Sinwar, it should be noted that in the last period the Hamas leader has been defined as “disconnected,” after he has not received any signs of life or messages for a long time. Rumors began to spread about his death, and the IDF began investigating the matter, but stated in advance that the chances of this were low, because there were no recent IDF attacks in the areas of his estimated stay. The IDF continues at all times with intelligence efforts to promote Sinwar’s assassination, a task that is particularly difficult given his tendency to change places of residence frequently, and to avoid using electronic means of any kind.
On Sunday, in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Prime Minister Netanyahu revealed that according to Israel’s assessment, about half of the hostages held by Hamas are still alive. Hamas has 101 hostages, 35 of whom were declared dead by the IDF. According to Netanyahu’s estimates, at least 75% of the other hostages are still alive – numbers that are certainly hopeful, and better than the various rumors that have circulated over the past few months.
