Prof. Kobi Michael discusses the severe challenges Israel faces in recovering the bodies of dead hostages, arguing that difficulties arise from geographical changes in Gaza and the manipulative actions of Hamas, which admitted access to bodies but uses them to create psychological pressure on Israeli society. He believes Israel possesses good intelligence regarding Hamas’s capacity and will use leverages and pressure from mediators to hold the organization accountable for the unrecovered bodies. Michael asserts that the war is still only in Phase One, expressing skepticism that Phase Two (disarming Hamas) will succeed because Hamas is actively reconstituting itself, recruiting thousands of militants, and demonstrating no intention to move towards demilitarization.
The full interview took place on ILTV on October 15, 2025.