Israeli FM Sa’ar: Freeing hostages important enough for Israel to take ‘heavy risks’ in cease-fire deal
The transition to the second phase of deal is 'not automatic' and must include dismantling of Hamas, Sa’ar said

JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images
Gideon Sa'ar attends a campaign event for the new center-right "National Unity Party", or Hamahane Hamamlachti in Hebrew, in the Druze village of Hurfeish in northern Israel on October 11, 2022.
Releasing hostages from Hamas captivity is important enough for Israel to agree to severe security risks in its deal with the terrorist group, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said in a press briefing minutes after the cease-fire took effect on Sunday morning.
“We are taking into consideration that there are risks,” Sa’ar said. “We decided that the objective of the return of the hostages is important enough at this stage to go to this framework. We will do our utmost in the future to protect our state and its citizens.”
Among the “heavy prices” of the deal for Israel, Sa’ar said, are releasing terrorists from prison and that the cease-fire will go into effect before Hamas’ military and governing capabilities are fully dismantled, — a key war’s objective.
“We are doing so because of our commitment to our brothers and sisters who are under captivity for over 15 months already, and we will do our utmost to release them,” he stated.
The first phase of the cease-fire deal is six weeks long and would involve the gradual release of 33 out of the remaining 97 hostages. Sa’ar referred to the cease-fire as “temporary” and not meant to end the war before its aims are attained.
“I want to make it clear that Israel is committed to achieving all the objectives of the war that the security cabinet determined, which includes the return of all our hostages, dismantling of Hamas’ government and military capabilities, and to make sure the Gaza Strip will not be a threat to the State of Israel and its citizens,” he said. “We have made advancements — Hamas turned from a terror army to a guerilla group — but we acknowledge the fact that we haven’t achieved yet our objectives with regard to this issue.”
Those aims can be reached without resuming the war, Sa’ar said, if Hamas’ dismantlement is negotiated as part of the later phases of the deal. Talks for the second phase are meant to begin in 15 days.
“The war itself is not an objective, but if we will not have another choice than to use military actions to meet the objectives, we will do that,” he added.
Addressing concerns that more hostages will not be released after the first phase, Sa’ar said that Israel is “committed to releasing all of our hostages…but it is clear that to move from the first phase to the second is not something automatic…To do it automatically is to accept Hamas’ wishes and Hamas’ demands. We have objectives to achieve and we will negotiate in good faith.”
Sa’ar argued that Hamas made concessions in the cease-fire talks, noting that in the past, the Palestinian terrorist organization demanded both that it remain in power and that Israel agree to a permanent cease-fire from the first phase. In prior talks, Hamas also sought to release fewer hostages.
The foreign minister also addressed reports that Hamas has replenished its forces, a claim that has been made recently by U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Tony Blinken.
”I can tell you our assessment is different and the numbers are dramatically lower according to our intelligence. They are much, much, much smaller,” he said.