Hamas is not genuinely interested in a hostage-for-ceasefire deal, according to two leading Middle East experts.
Speaking on ILTV’s Insider this week, Israeli analyst Yoni Ben-Menachem argued that even President-elect Donald Trump’s threats against Hamas are unlikely to be taken seriously.
“I think that the more he talks about this hostage deal and then threatens Hamas, he is losing his credibility because Hamas doesn't take him seriously,” Ben-Menachem said.
He explained that Trump lacks direct influence over the terror organization or mediators like Egypt and Qatar. “Egypt is very unstable internally, and the relationship between Trump and Qatar’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim ibn Hamad Al Thani, is such that Trump will not want to threaten him,” he added.
“I think the situation is very gloomy,” Ben-Menachem concluded.
'A Series of Missteps'
How did things reach this point?
Lt. Col. (Res.) Maurice Hirsch, who also appeared on Insider, blamed the Biden administration for what he described as a series of critical errors.
“The Biden administration managed to step on every landmine on the way to destroying Israel's capability to really get rid of Hamas, to annihilate Hamas, and to rescue the hostages,” Hirsch said.
“I think that forcing Israel to pour millions of tons of aid into the Gaza Strip through the hands of Hamas was a terrible mistake, which we are paying for to this day,” Hirsch said.
He also criticized delays in Israel’s military actions. “The idea of holding the IDF up from attacking in Rafah, which we saw the U.S. administration do for quite a long time, really proved to be disastrous. And so I don't think that anything the Biden administration really suggested was operable,” he said.
Hirsch dismissed the possibility of a sustainable ceasefire, suggesting that Hamas was using the idea of a deal as a tactic.
“They’re all just tricks to play with Israel's heartstrings and drag the situation out even more, putting more pressure on Israel instead of on the terrorists themselves,” Hirsch explained.
'Israel’s Mistakes in Gaza'
While critical of international actors, Ben-Menachem acknowledged that Israel has made its own mistakes. He contrasted Israel’s performance in Gaza with its operations in the north against Hezbollah.
“We see a lot of good results on the Northern Front, but on the Southern Front, the army made a lot of mistakes in Gaza and is still making mistakes,” Ben-Menachem said.
He called for a major overhaul of Israel’s strategy.
“I think that the whole strategy should be completely changed,” he added.