The ground maneuver may have pushed Hamas into a corner and advanced the ceasefire in battle, but there is no basis for the claim that this could have culminated with the release of the captives. Since the conflict began, Israel has successfully reached two bodies of captives and only one live captive (Ori Megidish), despite considerable efforts invested in the matter.

The US administration continues to view the Palestinian Authority as the lesser of two evils compared to Hamas. This shows that they haven't learned the lesson of the misconception that led to Oct. 7, the failed deterrence, and the self-delusion that you can buy off Hamas.

Israel Hayom reporter visits the troops on the front line, who want Israelis to know that the war has only just begun.

All relevant commanders in the elite IDF signal intelligence unit were asleep at the wheel, led by Brig. Gen. Y., who heads the unit. It appears that it failed to share the relevant intelligence, even though it claims it passed on everything to the IDF Intelligence Directorate's Research Division analysts.

In a delicate process, the troops watch as throngs of Palestinians pass through the humanitarian corridor – all the while soldiers hope to extract Israeli hostages who may have been forced to blend in with the crowd. The residents who disavow the massacre carried out by Hamas on October 7 don’t dare to speak up. The few who do will just say something like “We don’t condone what happened.”