Israel’s military has achieved all it can in Gaza war, according to former defense minister : NPR

On his final day as Israel’s protection minister, Yoav Gallant informed members of the family of the Israeli hostages in Gaza that the Israeli army had achieved all of its goals in Gaza and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was chargeable for holding up a ceasefire deal that might finish the conflict and get the remaining hostages house.

Netanyahu fired Gallant final week, saying that belief between them had “eroded” and that “important variations” had emerged between himself and Gallant about how you can proceed within the conflict in Gaza.

Gil Dickmann was one of many members of the family on the assembly with Gallant on Thursday. “I felt like he was lastly free to talk freely and to say what he thinks,” Dickmann informed NPR.

Gallant, who served as protection minister for the whole lot of the conflict till now, informed them that there was a deal on the desk in July that might have introduced the hostages house in two phases – Gallant mentioned he urged Netanyahu to simply accept the deal however that the prime minister refused.

It was heartbreaking for Dickmann to listen to. His cousin, Carmel Gat, was 39 when she was taken hostage – together with about 250 others – final October 7, within the Hamas-led assault on Israel that killed round 1,200 individuals.

After Netanyahu mentioned no to the attainable ceasefire deal in July, Gat was killed in Gaza together with 5 different Israeli hostages in August. Hamas later took duty for his or her killings.

Since July, hundreds extra Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army in Gaza – bringing the demise toll as much as greater than 43,000 in keeping with the ministry of well being – and a number of other extra hostages have been confirmed useless as properly.

“It was very clear from him that the explanation why we did not take this deal was not army, it wasn’t diplomatic – I feel it was a political motive,” Dickmann mentioned, referring to Netanyahu utilizing it for his personal political achieve “That meant that my cousin, who was alive at the start of July, stayed in captivity and was murdered simply six weeks later.”

Dickmann says Gallant informed them that the Israeli army has now completed all it may in Gaza.

“What he mentioned is there’s solely a lot you are able to do with drive, and so they’ve finished it,” he recalled.

Dickmann paraphrased Gallant’s phrases to them: “‘We haven’t any extra rivals, any extra enemies that we will even kill proper now, as a result of they’re all useless. We killed all of them.’ Because the Minister of Protection, he mentioned, ‘I did my job’.” Gallant was referring to a collection of excessive degree Hamas leaders who’ve been killed by the Israeli army, together with chief Yahya Sinwar in October.

NPR obtained a transcript and listened to a recording of the assembly with Gallant and was in a position to confirm what Gil Dickmann informed us.

NPR additionally reached out to each Gallant and the Prime Minister’s workplace about these claims. Neither responded.

For Dickmann, listening to that Netanyahu has been the primary sticking level in negotiations was sort of a aid. “It appears like we have been via 13 months of gaslighting during which Netanyahu is telling us ‘No, this isn’t my fault, […] don’t blame me for the truth that the hostages aren’t right here’,” Dickmann mentioned.

Gallant’s ouster is the most recent in a collection of personnel strikes Netanyahu has remodeled the conflict in Gaza. In June, Netanyahu dissolved his conflict cupboard, which gave him extra unilateral management over the conflict.

The Worldwide Prison Court docket is looking for arrest warrants for each Netanyahu and Gallant for conflict crimes associated to Gaza.

Gallant’s firing, in keeping with an Israeli official who spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate inner deliberations, was introduced on the day of the U.S. presidential election as a result of the Biden administration can be in any other case distracted and wouldn’t be capable to protest the choice.

Nevertheless it didn’t cease the Israeli public from protesting throughout the nation, shutting down main highways, lighting fires and finally being quelled by police. Many noticed this as yet one more transfer towards the breakdown of Israel’s democracy.

“We really feel that our nation is slipping away, and tonight is simply the final nail on the coffin,” mentioned 37-year-old Maayan Oz, at protests in Tel Aviv. “It is the final proof that the Prime Minister determined that his personal pursuits are extra vital than the safety and the lifetime of the citizen.”

Efforts to get ceasefire talks restarted have been gradual shifting. In the meantime, dozens of Palestinians proceed to be killed by Israeli strikes every single day in Gaza, and 101 Israeli hostages – round a 3rd of whom are confirmed useless – proceed to languish in captivity.

NPR’s Daniel Estrin contributed to this report.