Ex‑Israeli general says Gaza war could have ended a year sooner

Retired Israeli Major General Nitzan Alon claimed a deal to return all Israeli captives could have been reached “maybe a year earlier” than the October 2025 ceasefire.

Speaking on a Washington Institute for Near East Policy webcast marking three years since the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack, Alon said the war was “too long” and that an earlier agreement would not have compromised Israel’s strategic goals.

Alon described Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on “total victory” before any deal as “false” and called the October 2025 ceasefire a “strategic achievement” that weakened Hamas, but added that a quicker settlement could have saved lives on both sides.

The 2025 prisoner exchange saw nearly 2,000 Palestinians released from Israeli prisons and 20 Israeli captives freed from Gaza. Alon argued that a faster resolution might have prevented some hostages from being killed during captivity.

Former diplomat Alan Pinkas echoed the criticism, saying a deal was possible soon after the 2023 attacks and that the two‑year delay was “tragic”. He also noted that Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani had said Israel rejected an early Hamas proposal for a limited ceasefire to facilitate civilian evacuations.

Alon’s remarks come ahead of Israel’s legislative election on 27 October, with polls indicating public anger over the government’s handling of the conflict.

Category: International

Source: Al Jazeera. Photo: Monirul Islam / Pexels.