Former Hostages Chief: Israel Could Have Freed All Captives a Year Earlier

Nitzan Alon, the former head of the Hostages and Missing Persons Directorate, stated that Israel could have secured the return of all hostages approximately one year earlier while achieving similar strategic gains. Speaking at a Washington Institute for Near East Policy event, Alon argued that the intensive two-year military campaign could have yielded comparable strategic outcomes much sooner.

Alon suggested that this earlier resolution might have also saved the lives of some hostages who died in captivity, lamenting that "we missed this opportunity." He characterized the war as "too long" and speculated on the Prime Minister's motivations, noting that Benjamin Netanyahu likely considered strategic, political, and possibly personal factors in his decisions regarding the conflict's end.

"I am quite sure that we could have and should have shortened the war, brought all the hostages home perhaps a year earlier and moved forward, and perhaps also saved thousands of lives on both sides of the fighting," Alon asserted. He criticized the current leadership, stating Israel needs a government that realistically assesses the situation and offers genuine hope, not illusions or slogans like "absolute victory." Instead, he called for a leadership that provides a balanced and realistic plan to address the nation's security and economic challenges, concluding that "we definitely need different leadership to make these changes."

When asked about the protests demanding the release of hostages, Alon mentioned that they provided him with the strength to cope with the complex and painful situation.