‘Israel preferring the war over releasing the hostages’: Analyst

Gideon Levy, a columnist for Israeli Haaretz newspaper, says the rise in Israeli soldiers’ death toll in Gaza has not made much of an impact on Israeli public opinion, the majority of which support continuing the war. “Thirteen soldiers [killed] is a hell of a price for Israel but 600 people in Gaza were killed this weekend,” Levy told Al Jazeera. Israeli army says 152 Israeli soldiers have so far been killed since the ground assault in Gaza began on October 27. Levy said he is “quite surprised” that pressure on Netanyahu has been “limited” so far. “There is pressure concerning only one issue – releasing the hostages. Everything else is untouched. The sacrifice of Gaza doesn’t interest anybody in Israel, but even losing soldiers, which is so horrible for every family, is not leverage right now for growing protests. “Israel is preferring now continuing the war over releasing the hostages. It’s a very cruel choice.” Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #Israel #BenjaminNetanyahu #Netanyahu #IsraeliHostages #IsraeliCaptives #Palestine #Gaza #GazaAirRaids #GazaAirStrikes #GazaUnderAttack #GazaHumanitarianCrisis #IsraelHamasWar #GazaWar #IsraelWar #IsraelPalestineWar #IsraelGazaWar #GazaBombardment