The missed opportunity: "Eisenkot begged to extract wounded and elderly at zero cost"

Journalist Ruthi Yuval revealed in an interview with Kan News that Gadi Eisenkot was the only member of the security cabinet who begged to postpone the return to fighting during the discussions on the first hostage deal, in order to save more lives. According to her, Eisenkot proposed accepting Hamas's offer for seven elderly men and three bodies at zero cost, but Netanyahu and the other cabinet members opposed it.

Journalist Ruthi Yuval, co-author of the book "Hostages - 843 Days of Abandonment" with Shlomi Eldar, told Kan News about an investigation she conducted with Gadi Eisenkot. According to her, during the discussions on the first hostage deal, Eisenkot was the only one in the cabinet who called for postponing the return to fighting in order to try to save more hostages. He begged Netanyahu to accept Hamas's offer for seven elderly men and three bodies, what he called a "zero cost" compared to the Shalit deal. Eisenkot told Netanyahu: "It's really not important right now to educate Sinwar, I don't care if he thinks he tricked us... Let's be suckers by choice." All other cabinet members, including Chief of Staff Halevi, Gallant, and Netanyahu, called for a return to fighting. A few days later, Eisenkot's son, Gal Meir, fell in a hostage rescue attempt. The book is based on interviews with Israeli, American, Qatari, and Hamas officials.