Pressure rises on Netanyahu to end Gaza war in wake of captive videos

Political pressure is building on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a deal with Hamas to end the war in Gaza amid public outcry at the condition of remaining Israeli captives.

Israeli opposition figures, security insiders, and anti-government campaigners have ratcheted up their demands for a permanent end to the war in recent days after Hamas released footage of two emaciated Israeli hostages amid an ongoing siege on Gaza, agency reports.

Commentators and officials have voiced alarm at Israel’s growing diplomatic isolation after several of its closest allies announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state.

Meanwhile, uncertainty persists over how Netanyahu’s far-right coalition will proceed amid disagreements with the military about whether to expand the assault on Gaza.

More than 600 senior ex-military and security officials intervened in the crisis on Sunday, urging US President Donald Trump to pressure Netanyahu to end the war.

The letter, signed by almost every retired security and military chief, said that Hamas no longer poses a threat to Israel and called on Trump to negotiate a ceasefire to release the captives.

“We urge you to end the Gaza war. You did it in Lebanon. Time to do it in Gaza as well,” they wrote.

The intervention comes as the government continues to vow “total victory” against Hamas, with officials briefing the press that it is planning to expand the war after the Palestinian group walked away from truce talks last week.

Israeli media reported divisions within the government and the army about whether to escalate the conflict, with figures such as military chief of staff Eyal Zamir, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Mossad chief David Barnea opposing the far-right’s ambition to annex the entire territory.

The suggestion that the government could further escalate the war was met with condemnation from the captives’ family members, who accused the prime minister of mounting “the greatest deception of all”.

“The repeated claims of freeing hostages through military victory are a lie and a public fraud,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement on Saturday.

This comes after Hamas over the weekend released videos of two skeletal Israeli captives – Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David – and demanded Israel lift all restrictions on humanitarian aid into Gaza.

The images triggered fresh protests on the streets of Tel Aviv over the weekend and renewed calls by opposition figures to end the war.

“Netanyahu and his government have known for months about the starvation of the hostages. They know and ignore it,” centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote on social media on Sunday.

He was joined by right-wing Netanyahu critic Avigdor Lieberman, who accused the prime minister of sacrificing the country for his political survival and producing a “diplomatic collapse”.

Amid the outcry, Netanyahu has asked the Red Cross to help provide medical assistance and food to the captives.

The agency said it was “appalled” by the videos and called for their immediate release.

Hamas’s armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said it would allow the charity to meet with the captives if Israel agrees to end all restrictions on food and humanitarian aid entering Gaza.

The brigades denied intentionally starving them but said they would not receive privileged access to food while Israel continues to starve Gaza.

Israel last week eased its blockade on Gaza in response to international pressure amid warnings from aid agencies that the territory is facing mass starvation.

It has allowed air drops and increased the number of UN-led convoys entering via land, though humanitarian groups say this is not enough to prevent thousands of people from starving to death.

The decision to allow more aid into the strip has been controversial among Israel’s far-right settler activists, who are demanding the government seize Gaza and reestablish Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territory.

Jewish extremist groups have staged protests at the Gaza border in recent days and on Monday blocked trucks carrying humanitarian aid entering the enclave.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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