Israeli defense minister shows off captured intelligence assets, says IDF successes key to 'realistic' hostage deal
Gallant says IDF has ‘penetrated into Hamas’ most sensitive locations'
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, along with several ministers, visited the Julis IDF base on Sunday to view an exhibit established by the IDF’s Document and Technical Means Collection Unit (Amshat).
Gallant presented a summary of the Amshat unit's findings to his fellow ministers in front of an IDF exhibit displaying a portion of captured weapons and intelligence assets.
“You can see some of the findings here - missiles, explosives, mines,” the defense minister explained. “On the other side [of the room] we have numerous maps, communication technology, documents, computers and drives.”
“All these are things which the IDF uses from now on as intelligence, and not only that,” Gallant continued, “these demonstrate that we have penetrated into Hamas’ most sensitive locations. We are using their intelligence against them. We are using their weapons against them.”
Gallant also claimed that putting military pressure on Hamas would lead to a “realistic” hostage deal.
“The more we deepen our operations, the closer we get to a realistic deal in order to return the hostages,” he stated.
Gallant’s remarks appear to indicate that the Israeli government is unified in its decision to proceed with a ground invasion of the Rafah neighborhood in southern Gaza.
During an interview with ABC News, released Saturday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed that Israel would be moving forward with plans for operations in the southern Gaza town of Rafah.
Netanyahu said that those who oppose the Rafah operation want Israel to lose the war.
“Whoever tells us not to operate in Rafah is actually calling on us to lose the war and leave Hamas there,” Netanyahu stated.
At the same time, Israel is allegedly dispatching a delegation to Cairo for hostage negotiations, claiming a potential “change of direction.”
Some analysts believe Israel has acquired significant intelligence it has not yet disclosed, possibly leading to changes on the ground.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
