A Hamas militant spotted poking out of a tunnel in Rafah, Gaza in 2024 by an Israeli drone (video snippet - IDF)
A Hamas militant caught peeking out of a tunnel entrance in 2024 (video clip)

“No Body, No Deal”: IDF Chief Rejects U.S. Pressure to Release Hamas Terrorists

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The Judean Staff
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Washington Presses, Jerusalem Resists: Inside Israel’s Refusal to Free Hamas Operatives

Israel’s patience is wearing thin. After weeks of U.S.-brokered “ceasefire diplomacy” that has done little more than give Hamas breathing space, the Israel Defense Forces are putting their foot down. On Tuesday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir made a dramatic recommendation to Israel’s political echelon: do not release a single Hamas terrorist from IDF-controlled Gaza unless the body of fallen soldier Lt. Hadar Goldin is returned home.

Goldin, who was killed and abducted by Hamas during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, has become a symbol of the moral debt Israel owes its fallen. “No live terrorist will be released without the fallen soldier,” Zamir reportedly told senior officials, according to Ynet. His stance reflects both principle and pragmatism: a refusal to allow terrorists to turn Israeli compassion into a weapon of manipulation.

Washington’s Pressure, Jerusalem’s Resolve

Despite clear Israeli opposition, the Trump administration continues to pressure Jerusalem to permit “safe passage” for roughly 200 Hamas operatives trapped in the so-called Yellow Zone, territory under firm IDF control.

According to Channel 12 News, American mediators, under pressure from Qatar and Egypt, have been lobbying for the terrorists to be evacuated under Red Cross escort, unarmed, but alive and in exchange for absolutely nothing. The implication is clear: the world wants to save Hamas’s foot soldiers while Israel must await until Hamas decides it is time for the Jewish State's dead to be returned home.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the idea outright. “No safe passage for terrorists,” he declared, rebuffing the proposal that would effectively allow Hamas to reconstitute itself in southern Gaza. Earlier reports suggested that a deal was on the table allowing terrorists to lay down their arms and leave; that rumor has now been buried, along with the fantasy of appeasement.

IDF Command: ‘They Should Be Eliminated’

Senior IDF officials were blunt. Speaking to Channel 12, they confirmed that Zamir’s professional recommendationremains unchanged: the terrorists must be eliminated, not redeployed.

Only if Hamas fulfills the ceasefire terms, which include the return of all hostage bodies still held in Gaza, could any discussion proceed. “No bodies, no deal,” one defense source summarized. 

On Tuesday night, Hamas handed over one of those bodies, that of 19-year-old Israeli-American Itay Chen. His remains were identified by Israeli authorities, leaving seven still in Gaza, including Goldin. Since signing, the terrorist organization has blatantly violated the ceasefire, refusing to release the dead as agreed in the first phase of the U.S.-brokered deal while Israel has been strongarmed by the Trump administration to remain patient, and be grateful that at least the twenty living hostages were handed over as if deals that are partially fulfilled are as good as the ones that are fully completed.

Ceasefire or Stalemate? Hamas Violates Again

Since the agreement took effect on October 10, Hamas has repeatedly breached it, firing at troops, crossing restricted lines, and attempting to rearm. The IDF reports a steady pattern of aggression despite international insistence that the ceasefire holds.

In recent days alone:

  • Sunday: The IAF struck and killed a terrorist who crossed the Yellow Line and advanced on Israeli troops.

  • Monday: Air and ground forces eliminated another cell attempting to infiltrate.

  • Tuesday: A third gunman was neutralized after crossing into Israeli-controlled territory.

Each violation tells the same story: Hamas is using the ceasefire to test Israel’s limits, and Israel is answering with precision fire.

Underground War: IDF Finds Hamas’ Hidden Empire

While maintaining restraint above ground, Israeli troops continue to root out Hamas’s subterranean infrastructure.
During operations east of the Yellow Line, soldiers uncovered a major Hamas compound in Shejaiya containing rocket launchers, munitions, and launch positions aimed at Israeli towns.

In Jabaliya, combat engineers discovered and dismantled a tunnel hundreds of meters long and dozens deep, a hidden artery for smuggling and attacks. Hamas had used it for “prolonged stays,” the IDF said, likely meaning command operations or hostage storage.

These discoveries underline the absurdity of the ceasefire narrative: Hamas is rearming and re-digging while the world demands Israeli restraint.

The Yellow Line: Israel’s New Border of Defiance

The Yellow Line itself, a concrete corridor crowned by yellow-tipped posts, marks the new reality inside Gaza. It runs from north to south, delineating zones where Israel has withdrawn under the ceasefire’s first phase. Yet beyond it, Israel still controls over half of the Strip, roughly 53% — and continues to operate freely to neutralize threats.

The IDF insists this control is non-negotiable. “Our forces under the Southern Command will continue to remove any immediate threat to Israeli civilians,” the military said in a statement.

In short, the Yellow Line may have been drawn for diplomacy, but it is being enforced by firepower.

A Line Between Nations, and Between Principles

This standoff is about more than territory. It is about the moral and strategic spine of a nation that refuses to barter with evil.

The IDF’s message is unmistakable: Israel will not trade killers for corpses, nor will it reward Hamas’s cruelty with mercy. The pressure from Washington, the manipulation by mediators, the moral blackmail of “humanitarian optics”, none of it changes the fact that terrorism must end in defeat, not negotiation.

If the Biden administration wants to evacuate 200 Hamas fighters, it can find them a home elsewhere, not in Gaza, not in Israel, and not on the backs of Israel’s fallen heroes.

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