Israel's Opposition Leader Says Hostages Will Die If War In Gaza Continues

Yair Lapid. (Wikimedia Commons/Spokesperson unit of the President of Israel/Haim Zach)

Israel's Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said the hostages would die if the war in the Gaza Strip, Palestine continued, responding to comments by the Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer who said the war would end in a year.

"Let's remember what the price is: The hostages will die. If we wait another year, we will receive 59 bodies," Lapid told Radio 103FM, quoted from The Times of Israel April 30.

Earlier, Dermer on Monday said, a year from now, "the seven-front war starting on October 7 will end. Israel will win."

Lapid further said there were two necessary conditions for the war to end recruiting all eligible people to serve in the IDF (Israeli military), and a decision on who would replace Hamas as Gaza's ruler.

"Everyone must be mobilized. The number of soldiers is not enough. The government encourages avoidance and rejection (Haredi community to serve in the military)," explained the former Israeli PM.

"You don't set a war goal. Who will replace Hamas?" he said, apparently addressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government.

It is known that the attack by the Palestinian militant group led by Hamas to southern Israel on October 7, 2023 left 1,200 people dead and 251 others held hostage, according to Israeli calculations, as reported by Reuters.

Of that number, about 59 Israeli hostages are still in the hands of the militants, with 24 of them believed to be still alive.

Separately, the Palestinian death toll in Gaza since the conflict broke out in 2023 has reached lebi from 52,200 people, while more than 117 thousand others have been injured, the majority of children and women.