According to a new article in Haaretz, Israeli officials have all but given up on returning the hostages in favor of continuing the war. “According to senior defense officials, the Israeli government is not seeking to revive hostage talks and the political leadership is pushing for the gradual annexation of large parts of the Gaza Strip,” the daily reports.
Haaretz claims that chances of reaching a hostage deal “appear slim right now” as “there has been no discussion among international players involved in the talks.” But this gross understatement is explained later by the admission from anonymous IDF soldiers that the IDF “planned a wide-ranging operation in north Gaza after the collapse of the latest round of hostage talks, with the aim of pressuring Hamas to return to the negotiating table.”
