Cessation of Gaza attacks to mark hardest political time for Netanyahu: Ex-Israeli government adviser

By Zuhal Demirci

LONDON (AA) - Daniel Levy, an adviser to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak's government, said that the cessation of attacks on Gaza would mark the "beginning of the hardest political time" for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Levy told Anadolu that Netanyahu's refusal to halt the attacks is driven by his "personal interests."

He criticized Israel's attacks on Gaza and the political and military support provided by the UN to Israel.

Levy drew attention to the serious humanitarian situation in Gaza, stating: "I don't have the words. If one follows what the humanitarian agencies say, what the UN agencies say, we now hear of close to half a million people endangered from starvation."

Levy pointed out that Israel carried out air and artillery bombardments on Gaza without distinguishing between armed groups and civilians, leading to the death of more than 20,400 people, and the number of civilians under the rubble is unknown.

Indicating that more than 8,000 children were killed in Israel's attacks on Gaza, Levy emphasized the visible effects of the humanitarian catastrophe that occurred.

- ‘US doing all in its power to prevent end of war’

Referring to the lack of shelter, clean water, health conditions, medicine, and food for people during the winter season, Levy said: "The US is doing all in its power in the UN to prevent a swift action to bring this to an end. And we should be very clear that unless and until the guns go silent, we will not be able to address the humanitarian catastrophe."

Regarding when will Israel's attacks on Gaza end, Levy said: "I don't have the answer to that question. I think it's a combination of internal pressure and external pressure."

He stressed that the internal pressure is "limited."

"It comes partly from the families of those being held in Gaza who understand that you can either have the continuation of the military action or you can have the release of the hostages, but not both," he said.

Levy continued: "There are losses on the Israeli side, but there is no pressure from society yet to say ‘enough with the losses’."

The United States is providing weapons, and political and diplomatic support to Israel, he said, adding: “I hope this is not what we are going to live through in 2024.”

Levy stated: “We should remember that alongside all the other considerations for Netanyahu personally, the end of this war will be the beginning of the hardest political time for him.

“He (Netanyahu) has a personal interest, in addition to the other factors, to not bring this to an end.”

*Writing by Alperen Aktas from Istanbul