Breaking news live on the war between Israel, Hamas and the situation in Gaza: News and more

Benny Gantz, who resigned from Israel’s war cabinet last week, says Israel knows how many hostages are still alive in Gaza.

In an interview with Channel 11 on Thursday, his first since leaving the government, he was asked: “Does Israel know how many hostages are alive?”

He replied, “We know (an) approximate number.”

Gantz also said the government knows the fate of the Bibas family, who were among the hostages taken on October 7. When asked when the public would know, he said: “In due time.”

The Israeli military released a video showing the family alive inside Gaza on October 7. Yarden Bibas was taken prisoner along with his wife Shiri and their two children, Ariel and Kfir.

Hamas, for its part, said they were killed in an Israeli airstrike in November.

Speaking about his tenure as a member of Israel’s war cabinet, Gantz said: “When the October 7 incident happened, we were all on the same page and working together. But things have changed over time. The decision has been delayed because of pressure from (Israeli Finance Minister) Smotrich and others. It’s not that I gave up, but rather I tried to warn and correct the path; once I realized that was impossible, I left.”

Gantz predicted that “the battle in the south is going to be a long one. We will be in it for years. Israel will have to take a new path. (The) challenges are enormous. We will be able to face them only if Israel elects a new leadership.”

Regarding the future governance of Gaza, Gantz said: “It can’t be Hamas and it can’t be Israel. It has to be local that Israel can develop and value until one day they can rule. Israel will still control some areas of Gaza militarily, but it will not rule Gaza.”

Gantz reiterated his call for a renewed focus on the northern border.

“We need to deploy troops from the south to the north. We cannot waste another year in the north. We need to return the northerners to their homes. It will be a difficult war. If we can avoid it, we should do it. But if not, we will go to war.”

He said that IDF Chief of Staff Harzi Halevi and Defense Minister Yoav Galant would “eventually” resign by 7 October due to intelligence failures.

“These people are assets to Israel, but they still have to take responsibility,” Gantz said.