Krishnan Guru-Murthy: The images today and in the last few days have been extraordinary and I want to ask you how you view them. I mean, when you see those epic streams of people today, do you see them, as Britain’s prime minister has talked about them, as sort of innocent civilians, or do you see them as the enemy paying the price?
Brigadier General Amir Avivi: Well, what I’m concerned about is my own people. The fact that, you know, I’m in the north now of Israel – tens of thousands of Israelis displaced, and haven’t gone home. The Gazans went home now – our people didn’t go home. They are still displaced in the north and in the south. We have women and children that have been kidnapped. We have babies. Women have been killed, murdered. This is what you are worried about. Tens of thousands of rockets have been shot at Israel. Israel has been at war for a year and four months. Unprovoked. A war by Hamas, Iran and Hebzollah, unprovoked..
Krishnan Guru-Murthy: So you have no reaction to those images of the palestinians?
Brigadier General Amir Avivi: So this is what worries me. What worries me is what’s happening with the Israeli people. What worries me, we have 90 hostages who haven’t been returned yet – and we don’t know how many of them are alive. They murder our hostages.
Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Yeah. So you have no reaction to those images today?
Brigadier General Amir Avivi: Well, I think that the war in Gaza can end in ten minutes. All Hamas needs to do: return all the hostages, lay down your weapons and get out of Gaza. That’s it. For the benefit of the Gazans and for the benefit of Israel. Hamas cannot stay in Gaza. Hamas is a terror organisation abusing its own people, attacking Israel. This terror organisation needs to lay down its weapons and leave Gaza. And then the war will be over.
Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Well, it’s interesting that you don’t think the war is over when the ceasefire is on. I mean, that was the other image I wanted to ask you about, which is the images of those Hamas fighters during the release – very much showing that Hamas has not been destroyed.
Brigadier General Amir Avivi: Many fighters of Hamas retreated to the humanitarian zone. These are the cowards who didn’t have the courage to fight Israel. They retreated to the humanitarian zone, dressed as civilians. And now that they are in the ceasefire, they take out their uniforms, which they never fight with by the way, and now they are showing their power. But we have to say the truth. Hamas has been beaten – most of their military capability has been dismantled, but yet Hamas is still controlling the Gazan people.
Krishnan Guru-Murthy: They’re not destroyed, are they?
Brigadier General Amir Avivi: Not completely, but let’s say 80%. And the job needs to finish now. They need to decide.
Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Well, what does that mean, when you say the job needs to finish? What do you mean? Do you mean the war continues? You continue hitting Hamas?
Brigadier General Amir Avivi: We have to eradicate Hamas.
Krishnan Guru-Murthy: So you break the ceasefire?
Brigadier General Amir Avivi: This is exactly the goal of war that Israel set. We set three goals of war – very clear. Eradicating Hamas as a governmental and military entity, bringing back all our hostages and creating the terms in Gaza that never again there will be a terror army threatening Israel, in Gaza.
Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Well, just to be clear, are you opposed to the ceasefire?
Brigadier General Amir Avivi: Make peace with the Gazans, but not Hamas. Hamas needs to go.
Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Yeah, but just to be clear, are you saying the ceasefire is wrong, then, and the war should carry on?
Brigadier General Amir Avivi: This ceasefire was signed as an agreement to release hostages. And obviously in this agreement, Israel, unfortunately, is releasing murderers, terrorists, out of prison…people who killed children and women. But this is part of the deal. What can we do? We want to release our hostages, but we don’t know what will happen in the second stage. I mean, we are supposed to release now 33 hostages out of 90. It’s not clear if Hamas is going to agree to release the remaining hostages and if it’s going to agree to get out of Gaza.