\n<\/p>\n
Mr. Netanyahu called the Hamas video \u201ccruel psychological warfare.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hamas is prepared for a long, bloody fight, and its fighters have turned Gaza into a labyrinth of tunnels, stocked with weapons and food. Some of the hostages are hidden in the tunnels, many of which are likely booby-trapped.<\/p>\n
After pounding Gaza and its people with artillery and bombs, the Israeli Army moved in on Friday. So far, the Israeli military has advanced to the outskirts of Gaza City but not entered the Hamas stronghold. Fierce urban fighting is expected when they do.<\/p>\n
Rob Saale, the former head of the F.B.I.-led Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, said Israel was facing an unprecedented situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no easy solutions,\u201d Mr. Saale said. \u201cI think the Israelis are pursuing the right course. You can\u2019t let the hostages dictate what you are doing. Continuing to put a lot of pressure on Hamas is probably the best way to get them back. Hamas isn\u2019t going to free hostages from a position of strength.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lt. Gen. Mark C. Schwartz, a retired Special Operations commander who formerly served as U.S. security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, said that Israel has likely embedded commandos within its advancing ground units so that they can act quickly if they receive fresh intelligence on hostage locations.<\/p>\n
Other former senior officers who have served combat tours in the Middle East painted a grim picture of trying to recover the hostages \u2014 either through negotiations or military rescue \u2014 as Israeli forces pushed deeper into Gaza.<\/p>\n
Gen. Richard D. Clarke, a retired head of the U.S. Special Operations Command, said the conditions in Gaza \u2014 an active war zone, the large number of hostages, scarce intelligence on their exact locations and Hamas\u2019s preparations to defend against an Israeli assault \u2014 make any hostage recovery operation \u201cextremely challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting the hostages out will be very difficult,\u201d said Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., a retired head of the U.S. military\u2019s Central Command. \u201cHamas will try to create dilemmas for the Israelis \u2014 putting them near command posts, rocket launching sites and ammo dumps \u2014 as long as they can.\u201d<\/p>\n
The three generals all predicted a lengthy fight, possibly taking months.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not think Hamas will fold,\u201d said General Schwartz. \u201cThey want to kill Israeli soldiers, and I expect there to be brutal fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yair Golan, a former deputy chief of staff in the Israel Defense Forces who helped rescue partygoers at a music festival<\/a> that was attacked on Oct. 7, said the hostages have to be a priority as Israel conducts the war against Hamas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n