Gallant, in a meeting with the families of the captives, acknowledged the failure of the regime in this regard but said their release remains the goal in any military operation or negotiation.
“The army continues to put military pressure on Hamas because this is the only way to achieve goals”, he said.
His reactions came as pressure is mounting on the regime to speed up the process to bring captives back home whereas, negotiations aimed at establishing a ceasefire in Gaza and exchanging prisoners have not yet reached a conclusion.
The Israeli daily Haaretz though reported earlier that the agreement with the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas on the prisoner swap is likely before the arrival of the holy month of Ramadan.
The daily cited several foreign diplomats without naming them that Israel is buying time to reach an agreement but some Zionist sources said that the two sides are still far apart on several main issues.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden's Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, is scheduled to visit Egypt and Israel this week on a diplomatic mission.
Axios news website reported that McGurk’s talks will focus on a potential Israeli ground attack in Rafah, the prospects of a prisoner exchange deal, and the pursuit of a ceasefire in Gaza
The visit follows inconclusive talks between American and Israeli spy chiefs as well as Qatari and Egyptian representatives in Cairo over a framework of a ceasefire proposal hammered out in Paris last month.
Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh also arrived in Egypt early Tuesday for talks with Egyptian officials on the ongoing Israeli offensive and to convey a message regarding the potential ceasefire.
Hamas had previously responded to the proposals regarding the ceasefire setting several demands, including the complete end of the Israeli war, the withdrawal of Zionist forces from Gaza, the flow of aid and reconstruction of the strip for a deal with Israel.
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