War between Hamas and Israel: “We are very far from being able to recover hostages,” says a former chief negotiator for the Raid

Sunday, November 19, Mohammed ben Abderrahmane Al-Thani, the Qatari Prime Minister, assured that they were suffering “minor challenges” in the negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages, held by Hamas. Christophe Cupenneformer chief negotiator of the Raid, believes: “At the tactical level, it’s more than minor issues. We must manage to approach a large number of hostages. If we ever want to deliver a lot, we might have to do [un échange] hostages in an area that is secure. You have to have guarantees. (…) We must ensure that there is immediate medical assistance.“

“The surprise effect”

According to him, these releases would concern “a few small packets“to see”how can this happen“.”For the moment, we are very far from being able to recover hostages, who are certainly still in tunnels, protected areas. We must bring them to the surface and we must organize these meetings precisely“, explains Christophe Coupenne, who remains very cautious.

Asked about the intervention of Israeli commandos in the tunnels to free the hostages, the former chief negotiator of the Raid replied: “First, because there are always strikes on the zones [d’accès aux tunnels]. Then because infiltration is a necessity for the effect of surprise. However, if there is no element of surprise, at that point, it becomes very complicated. (…) We must find the hostages, so that the kidnappers do not kill them, and then come out.“