Israeli officials clash over captives' fate

Al Mayadeen

15-07-2025

The Israeli army's Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir triggered widespread backlash from far-right ministers, especially Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Police Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, after warning that expansion of the war on Gaza could endanger the Israeli captives' lives.
The Israeli newspaper Ynet reported that Smotrich directly criticized Zamir during a cabinet meeting, saying, "We want to bring the hostages back, but we're not willing to sacrifice an entire country for it," while also stressing the importance of moving forward with plans to establish a "southern Netzarim zone" inside Gaza and "redistribute Israeli settlers, relocating them from the north to that area."
Ben-Gvir strongly attacked Zamir's stance, saying, "There's never been a war where defeating the enemy was stopped because of hostages," according to Ynet.
The Police minister added that "the goal must be a decisive victory over Hamas to prevent thousands more future captives," calling for increased pressure on Gaza while insisting that "recovering the most hostages depends on cutting off aid to the strip and expanding the Israeli military's presence throughout Gaza."
These hardline positions come as "Israel's" assault on Gaza continues and hostage deal negotiations stall, with the Israeli government refusing to agree to a permanent ceasefire.
Despite its brutal offensive and siege, "Israel" has failed to achieve any of its stated objectives, unable to forcibly free its captives or establish full control over Gaza, as resistance fighters continue heroic operations inflicting heavy losses on occupation forces.
On June 30, Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement, announced that its fighters ambushed an Israeli infantry unit in eastern Khan Younis in southern Gaza, killing and wounding several Israeli soldiers.
Resistance fighters reportedly set up explosives in a house where Israeli occupation forces had entered, rigging the building with both anti-personnel and anti-fortification devices, then detonating the charges after the soldiers were inside, according to a statement.
As Israeli reinforcements approached the scene, Palestinian fighters engaged them with heavy machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades, leading the Israeli military to respond by deploying helicopters amid intense covering fire and smoke screens to evacuate the surviving soldiers.
In another operation east of Khan Younis, al-Quds Brigades announced that their fighters successfully targeted and destroyed an Israeli D9 armored bulldozer by detonating a high-yield, barrel-type explosive device in the area of Abasan al-Kabira.