Israel's ceasefire with the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militia has revived hopes for a truce with Hamas in the Gaza war, and the return of the remaining hostages taken in the October 7, 2023 terror attacks. But what concessions are Israelis prepared to make?
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00:00In silence they protest for the hostages without a voice.
00:05101 are still held captive in Gaza.
00:08It's not clear how many of them are still alive.
00:11And time is running out.
00:14Ever since the terror attack on October 7th last year,
00:17these protesters have the same demand.
00:21Our demand has been the same since day one,
00:24and that is to work toward a deal,
00:26to make a deal that will bring all the hostages home.
00:30But a hostage deal comes with a price for Israel.
00:33In the last negotiations that stalled,
00:35Hamas demanded the release of a large number of Palestinians
00:38held in Israeli prisons.
00:43History shows Israel has been prepared to pay a high price
00:46to get hostages back.
00:49In 2011, one Israeli soldier called Gilad Shalit
00:53was released after five years in captivity in Gaza
00:56in return for over a thousand Palestinians held in prison,
01:01including Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar,
01:04who went on to plan the October 7 terror attacks.
01:08Pointing back to deals like these,
01:10some in the government say the price this time is too high,
01:15including far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir,
01:19who made his stance clear in an interview with Army Radio.
01:24I believe that a reckless deal that will release a thousand Sinwar-like terrorists
01:28and end the war is a serious blow to the state of Israel.
01:34Even though surveys suggest the majority of Israelis want a hostage deal now,
01:39Ben-Gvir's argument resonates with many.
01:42On the right, most of the respondents would tell you
01:48that the deal that is being put on the table by Hamas
01:52is very risky from the point of view of Israel's strategic positioning
01:59and that the price that is demanded is much too high to pay,
02:06taking into consideration that if security is not guaranteed,
02:11we will pay with more lives in the future.
02:15But for those whose loved ones are still held hostage in Gaza,
02:19whatever it takes to reach a deal is worth it.
02:23We will have to pay a price. There is no choice.
02:28No price is too high for all the innocent souls that are in Gaza.
02:31Simply no price is too high.
02:35But until a deal is reached, the pain of not knowing when or if
02:40they'll ever see the hostages released drags on.