Ex-Israeli official offers bold 2-pronged strategy as 'the only way' to free hostages from Hamas

A former Israeli official has offered a two-pronged strategy as the only way to free the remaining hostages captured by Hamas terrorists during the Oct attacks In the current era in my estimation Israel must declare that it is no longer willing to negotiate as it has been Then it must do two things simultaneously Yossi Amrusi a former senior Shin Bet official recounted Israeli outlet Maariv a sister publication to The Jerusalem Post First push as much as it can for separating Gazans from Hamas through designated humanitarian zones he announced That will also lead to control over humanitarian aid so that it doesn t reach Hamas And second since it is estimated that hostage locations are known we must conduct local negotiations with those holding the hostages Offer money and their lives in exchange for the hostages Amrusi argued that Hamas benefits from the prolonged negotiations and questioned whether anyone remaining in Gaza has the authority to make decisions ISRAEL ANNOUNCES IMMEDIATE RESUMPTION OF GAZA AID AIRDROPS AMID GROWING HUNGER PROBLEM A clever Persian trader once communicated me in the arena You ll win the deal when you're willing to lose it And why For several reasons he reportedly revealed One Hamas benefits from dragging things out It continues to hold the key to its survival and in the meantime who knows what could happen European pressure a false starvation campaign Trump might flip on Israel internal pressure on the governing body All of these and each on its own are good for them He also voiced skepticism about Qatar's effectiveness as a negotiating party I m not sure that Qatar the mediator even has the ability to decide anything And it s not even certain they have communication with Hamas s internal leadership for consultations and decision-making Amrusi explained It s key to ask is there anyone in Hamas' Gaza who can make decisions Who has control over those holding the hostages Do they even know where they are and what condition they re in After all certain of the hostages aren t even in their hands I ve inevitably reported Hamas will release the hostages when we force them to release them he continued but we don t know how to do that Military pressure isn t being applied to its full extent and our soldiers hands are pretty tied We re bringing in humanitarian aid that gives Hamas life oxygen fuel and money Regime constraints and fears are holding back the opening of immigration offices and the establishment of humanitarian zones We solely don t know how to win Amrusi added The U S and Israel pulled their negotiating teams from Doha Qatar on Thursday U S special envoy Steve Witkoff stated Friday that the decision came after Hamas' latest response clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza HAMAS LOSING IRON GRIP ON GAZA AS US-BACKED GROUP GETS AID TO PALESTINIANS IN NEED While the mediators have made a great effort Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith Witkoff wrote on X We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable ecosystem for the people of Gaza It is a shame that Hamas has acted in this selfish way We are resolute in seeking an end to this conflict and a permanent peace in Gaza In a declaration disclosed by his office Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed Witkoff saying Hamas is the obstacle to a hostage release deal Together with our U S allies we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home end Hamas s terror rule and secure lasting peace for Israel and our region he announced Egypt and Qatar which are mediating the talks alongside the United States stated the pause was only temporary and that talks would resume though they did not say when Meeting with President Donald Trump at his golf lesson in Scotland on Monday British Prime Minister Keir Starmer came determined to press the U S to take a larger role in helping quell what he called a desperate situation amid increasing reports of starvation in Gaza as the Israel-Hamas war rages Trump at first lamented that the U S had not gotten enough credit for previously providing food aid He shifted his tone when reporters questioned him about images of emaciated children from Gaza When solicited if he agreed with Netanyahu s new remarks about concerns of mass starvation in Gaza being overstated he replied I don t know I mean based on television I would say not particularly because those children look very hungry Starmer added I think people in Britain are revolted at seeing what they are seeing on their screens Trump stated Israel has a lot of responsibility for what s happening but is hampered by what its actions might mean for the prospects of Israeli hostages Hamas has been holding since it attacked Israel in I think Israel can do a lot Trump stated adding of Netanyahu I want him to make sure they get the food CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPIsrael meanwhile has maintained that it is doing what it can to get humanitarian aid to Gazans The country's foreign ministry shared a video on Tuesday of what it says is Hamas violently looting aid keeping it from civilians The foreign ministry also called out major media outlets for sharing an image of an emaciated Palestinian child implying that the boy's condition is the product of starvation Israel identified the boy as Osama al-Raqab who suffers from cystic fibrosis The ministry commented Israel enabled him to go to Italy for remedy while the media used his appearance to demonize the Jewish state This is what a modern blood libel looks like the ministry mentioned The Associated Press contributed to this account