Former IDF Commander Criticizes Leadership for Rejecting Early Hostage Deals in Gaza Conflict

Retired Major General Nitzan Alon, former head of the IDF's Prisoners and Missing Persons Command, criticized Israel's political leadership for refusing earlier comprehensive hostage exchange deals during the Gaza conflict. Speaking at the Herzliya Conference at Reichman University on Wednesday, Alon said the cabinet and political leadership rejected full agreements in favor of pursuing a so-called 'total victory,' which he called a false notion. He argued that partial agreements were chosen to allow the fighting to continue repeatedly, but this strategy prolonged the war unnecessarily, resulting in higher costs and casualties.

Alon emphasized that the war could have ended at least a year earlier and noted that about 40 hostages who were captured alive were later killed in captivity. He suggested that different decisions or negotiations might have saved some of these lives. Alon also dismissed Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's claim of credit for all hostages being returned, pointing out that Smotrich opposed most hostage deals except the first one in November 2023.

Earlier this week, Smotrich claimed in a podcast interview that his influence was decisive in keeping all hostages alive and continuing the war beyond the Rafah border. However, Alon and other facts contradict this, showing Smotrich was a leading opponent of the comprehensive hostage deal planned for early 2025, which aimed to secure the release of all living hostages and later fallen soldiers. Smotrich conditioned his continued participation in the government on renewing hostilities and exerted political pressure against advancing the second phase of the deal.