Israel using captives as ‘alibi’ to continue genocide in Gaza: Report

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 11 May 2025 7:25 PM

Israel has not prioritized the safe return of captives held by Hamas in Gaza. Instead, it’s using them as “an alibi” to continue its war crimes against the Palestinians, according to an Israeli intelligence source.

According to a report published by Israel’s Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth, the regime is fully aware that its devastating attacks across the Gaza Strip pose a grave risk to the captives and have, in fact, already led to fatalities.

Citing an intelligence source, the report said the regime has never prioritized their safe return from Gaza.

“The maneuvers kill captives, not theoretically, it actually kills them,” said the source, who holds a senior position in Israeli intelligence.

Another source told Ynet News, “With the help of an alibi” in the form of the captives, the Israeli forces will “flatten all the buildings that remain standing.”

The source claimed that the regime’s broader objective is to “encourage ‘voluntary emigration’, which essentially means expelling Palestinians from Gaza to make way for settlers.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his minister of military affairs, Israel Katz, and senior military officials have repeatedly insisted that continued military pressure is the only viable strategy to secure the release of the captives.

Israel threatened on May 6 that it would launch an intensified offensive on Gaza, which, according to Tel Aviv, would entail “the conquest of the Gaza Strip and the holding of the territories.”

Netanyahu claimed that the “new campaign would help bring home the hostages still being held in Gaza.”

The Israeli prime minister said he believes “we are not done. We are before the finish line.”