One hundred and thirty IDF commanders and reserve officers who actively participated in the war in Gaza issued a rare public letter earlier this week to IDF Chief of Staff Herzi HaLevi and members of the war cabinet in which they demanded that Gazan civilians be prevented from returning to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip until all the hostages are released.
The letter states: “In recent days, the IDF has started releasing reserve units and we immediately asked ourselves: did we fulfill the mission for which we were recruited and how do the significant gains we achieved on the battlefield translate into achievements at the strategic level? Unfortunately, the answer is that apparently the IDF and the Israeli government cannot translate the victories achieved through much effort on the tactical level into a clear and decisive victory on the systemic and strategic levels.”
They continued by saying that it was clear from the outset that the fighting would last a long time, “but we must ensure that the only achievement obtained in the battle up to the current stage is not lost – the operation on the ground. In an unprecedented step, we evacuated most of the population of Gaza City and established operational control over large parts of the city. We must preserve this achievement for the continuation of the war. First and foremost, we must complete the task of evacuating the population from the combat zone in the northern part of the strip and we must then ensure a complete blockade of the corridor to the Nachal Gaza base, above and below ground.”
One of the letter’s signatories, Negev Division commander Col. (res.) Ariel Ben Gigi, told Ynet why he signed. “I think that the IDF’s main achievement in the war is actually the evacuation of the population from the north of the Strip, and we have to remember that the defeat of Hamas there is still far from being achieved. There are many more terrorists there, even thousands, and there are many terrorist infrastructures – and this is part of our mission. The return of the residents of Gaza is morally wrong in light of the hostages but it’s also operationally wrong. It will endanger them, it will endanger us, and it will prevent operational freedom in these areas.”
Ben Gigi said that he fears that Israel will concede to international pressure and allow the residents to be returned to the northern Gaza Strip, which “we achieved with great effort and of course at the cost of human life.”
Lt. Col. Chanoch Hagar, the combat director of the 261st Division, another signatory of the letter, explained why the officers decided to write to the IDF Chief of Staff. “After we understood that the IDF had decided to release the reserve forces, we, a number of senior reserve officers, stand united from all stripes of the political and social spectrum, and we asked ourselves how we can continue the spirit we experienced in the last three months into our civilian lives. It was clear to us that we could not return to the days and events we experienced before October 7th. We thought we had the duty to bring the values that characterized reserve duty to civilian life.”
He added that the officers chose two central values that accompanied them in Gaza. “It is about the value of sticking to the mission and striving for victory and the value of unity. We want to show that these values can also be applied in our daily lives as a people and a country.”
Hagar said that the residents of the northern Gaza Strip should not be allowed to return to their homes before the release of the 136 Israeli hostages. “We know that we can’t complete all of the war’s objectives right away and so we ask the Cabinet to allow us to maintain the objective we reached, to maintain control over northern Gaza and evacuate the population.”
“”The Cabinet must ensure that the IDF completes the task of evacuating the population and Gazans don’t return to the north as long as the hostages aren’t returned. We know that it is possible to unite the vast majority of our people around such a clear and immediate task to thwart the disputes and quarrels that are already beginning to resume. There is no reason for Ahmed to return to Gaza before Ziv and Gali return to Kfar Azza.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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Besides – how many terrorists escaped north Gaza to southern Gaza along with the “civilian” evacuees early in the war? In fact, it is believed that Sinyar ym’svz himself hid in one of those convoys. So now they’ll just head back to north Gaza and undo all Israel has accomplished at such great cost?!