Former Mossad Official: The War Is Over, And Victory Is Not Within Our Reach

“The situation on the ‘Israeli’ side is deteriorating. We are talking about ongoing negotiations. The war is over, and victory is not within reach,” Igra added.

“I said this before. Sources close to the negotiations reported that Hamas’ advances and delays are for the sake of PR rather than reaching any kind of deal,” Igra said in an interview with the “Israel’s” Radio 103. “From the beginning, Hamas demanded several things and did not change its position even once, namely the withdrawal of the ‘Israeli’ army from the Gaza Strip, not targeting officials, a ceasefire, and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.”

He pointed out that “Israel is not able to be flexible and accept some of Hamas' demands, especially since bringing Hamas back into the game is a message that we have conceded to it everything it did to us on October 7.”

Igra explained that he does “not know exactly what ‘Israel’ proposed to Hamas, but Hamas is not prepared for anything less than the army's withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war.”

According to the former Mossad operative, “the ‘Israelis’ and Americans believe that it can be persuaded. This is illogical and contradicts Hamas’ sound logic. At the end of the day, we are talking about a jihadist organization committed to jihad against the Jews.

“There are motives that ‘Israel’ can exploit to bring the prisoners back, but it has not used wisdom yet for its own reasons. The only thing we did not do is find an alternative for the next day […] For the residents of Gaza, there is only Hamas. It controls the Strip, and it has tremendous support within the Strip, no less than what it was on October 7. Hamas itself has no reason to change.”

Furthermore, Igra poured cold water on “hopes of an imminent military operation that appears to be taking place in Rafah.

"There are problems with maneuvering in Rafah, especially the evacuation of the population and international approval. ‘Israel’ is not in a bright place in the international arena.”

Igra expressed his concern about the price that ‘Israel’ might pay as part of a prisoner swap deal.

“The price was not discussed with the ‘Israeli’ public, and none of us knows what the price will be. This matter should not be exaggerated when it comes to the future of ‘Israel’ [...] It is time for the public to have its say on this matter. We were not informed of the price in the Gilad Shalit deal. We found out about it on October 7. We must know the price because we will all pay it.”