"Destroying Hamas and rescuing the hostages at the same time is not possible," warned Razi Barkai during an interview with Israel's Army Radio, a radio network owned and operated by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
General of the Reserve Army Gioria Eiland, former head of the IDF's Operations Department, shared this sentiment.
"Hamas as an organization has not been broken, not only because its leadership still exists, but also because the goal on its part is very simple: to persevere and be steadfast." (Related: John Moore: Escalation of Gaza conflict could lead to the ELIMINATION OF ISRAEL.)
Israeli Channel 13 Arab affair correspondent Zvi Yehezkeli added that Hamas in Gaza is not in distress. "And you won't find senior leaders under Al-Shifa Medical Hospital."
Israelis believe Netanyahu intentionally prolonging the war to keep himself in power
In his interview with Army Radio, Eiland also noted how Hamas will likely keep holding on to the hundreds of Israeli and other foreign hostages it has in its vast, unconquerable network of tunnels underneath the Gaza Strip.
"[Hamas] assumes that Israel will at a certain stage be forced to stop due to international pressure or other reasons; therefore, this battle is still at its peak," he said.
And while there is indeed strong international pressure for a long-lasting ceasefire in Gaza, domestic pressure against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conduct of the war is also reaching its boiling point, with many Israeli activists certain that Netanyahu is intentionally prolonging the conflict to keep himself in power.
Israeli journalist and writer Meron Rapoport, writing for Local Call, warned that, "even if there is no chance of achieving a real military victory," Netanyahu is willing to prolong the conflict in Gaza, especially if doing so staves off "any progress" toward Palestinian self-determination following the conflict.
The families of Israelis being held hostages are, of course, not happy about this situation, as they rightly fear that a prolonged conflict means their chances of seeing their loved ones back home continue to diminish.
Some of these families have banded together and have, almost since the conflict began, been protesting for Tel Aviv to do more to secure the release of the hostages.
"I demand from Benjamin Netanyahu and the cabinet to give us answers and actions," said Shelly Shem Tov, whose 21-year-old son Omer was kidnapped, during a stop on a five-day march from Tel Aviv to Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem. "Where are you? Where are you?"
"Bibi [Netanyahu], [Benny] Gantz and [Minister of Defense Yoav] Gallant, you failed! You failed!" she said at another instance, naming the three most important members of Israel's emergency war cabinet.
"We know that you can decide tonight [to secure the release of the hostages]," she screamed, through sobs. "We will burn the state down until they come home – all of them."
Learn more about the ongoing devastating conflict in Gaza at WWIII.news.
Watch this episode of the "Health Ranger Report" as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, discusses how Israel's indiscriminate bombing and ground operations in Gaza are not "self-defense."
This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.
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