Hamas planned a decade-long hostage strategy, says Gal Hirsch

In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Brig.-Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch describes Hamas’s plan to use hostages as long-term leverage, his role coordinating captives and missing people, and the high-stakes rescue efforts and negotiations around the Gaza crisis, including the recovery of Ran Gvili’s remains. He argues several rescue attempts were halted to protect others, notes the US, Egypt, and Qatar’s mediation, and calls for a standing national framework and a permanent hostage-coordinator to prevent a repeat turn of events.