If Israel wants to achieve victory in its war against Hamas, it will need to occupy Gaza and eventually move Jewish families into the territory, according to MK Ohad Tal, chair of the Religious Zionist faction.
Speaking on the ILTV News Podcast, Tal said the only “price” Hamas understands is the price of land. He explained that Hamas does not care about the number of civilians killed, as the group uses them as human shields. Nor does it care about destroyed buildings, since the international community will eventually pay to rebuild. What matters to Hamas, he said, is if Israel takes its land.
“I'm all in favor of returning Israeli villages into the Gaza Strip. I think that'll be appropriate,” Tal said. However, he added, he would not push for this until the government votes in that direction. “For now,” he said, “let's make sure that we are taking security control over the Gaza Strip.”
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already stated—both publicly and in the Security and Foreign Affairs Committee, where Tal serves—that the IDF will likely hold long-term security control in Gaza, not just from the air but with a physical presence on the ground.
“That’s the only realistic way to make sure that we will actually achieve the three goals of the war,” said Tal. “Everything else is just hallucination.”
According to Netanyahu, the goals are to dismantle Hamas’s military and civilian rule, return all the hostages, and ensure Hamas can no longer pose a threat to Israel’s border.
Tal argued that the second goal—bringing home the hostages—cannot be achieved through a diplomatic deal.
“We are not negotiating with Switzerland,” he said. “We are negotiating with a radical jihadist organization who has one goal, and that is to destroy Israel. And therefore, there is no deal that will nicely bring the release of all the hostages.”
He said the only way to retrieve the hostages is through force. Even then, he’s not sure all 58 bodies will be recovered. Around 20 people are currently believed to still be alive, and Tal said he doubts Hamas can even locate many of those killed over the last 20 months.
Still, he believes Israel is closer to victory than ever before. For the first 16 or 17 months of the war, the goals were not accomplished, but things have changed. First, there is new leadership in the IDF under Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir.
“The whole war plan has changed,” Tal said.
Second, the U.S. administration under President Donald Trump has removed what Tal called the “handcuffs” of the Biden administration. He said the current U.S. government is no longer pressuring Israel to end the war, even as it negotiates a hostage deal. It is also supplying Israel with the ammunition, bulldozers, and other materials it purchased—equipment the previous administration had delayed or withheld.
Tal emphasized that victory is not just a national goal, but a global Jewish imperative.
“I know there's such unbelievable pressure on Israel, both internally and externally, to stop the war, to cave to all of Hamas’ demands,” Tal said. “But if Israel will cave to Hamas’ demands, it will have unbelievable implications, not just for Israel's future, but also for the future of Jews.”
He warned that for Jews in the diaspora, a weakened Israel could embolden antisemites to commit more violent acts, citing recent attacks in Boulder, Colorado, and Washington, D.C.
“We have to achieve victory and we will do that,” Tal said.
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Podcast 08.06.2025
(קרדיט: ILTV)
