The devastating war waged by Israel in the Gaza Strip, in retaliation for the bloody Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, has failed to defeat the Islamist movement. Fifty-nine Israeli hostages, some of them dead, are still being held in Gaza. The angry families of these captives continue to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to commit to the second phase of the ceasefire, and the danger his position poses to the lives of their loved ones. And yet, the crucial question of whether to resume fighting or extend the truce begun on January 19 has not been the subject of any real debate among Israeli parties. Netanyahu and his far-right allies continue to suppress the national political scene, preventing the emergence of any real opposition.

One of its leading figures, former general Benny Gantz, head of the right-wing National Unity Party, who joined the Israeli war cabinet after October 7 before resigning with a bang eight months later, was quick to give Netanyahu carte blanche on Israeli television on February 17 to secure the hostages' release. Following this, on February 22, the former Chief of the General Staff and three other leading figures from the anti-Netanyahu camp – Yaïr Lapid (center), Yaïr Golan (Zionist left) and Avigdor Lieberman (radical right) – issued a joint statement assuring the prime minister of their "total support" in the operations to return the hostages.

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