Former head of the Mossad Yossi Cohen spoke to Meet the Press and addressed the war against Hamas and the efforts to free the Israeli captives currently held in Gaza.
His first message is one of reassurance to the Israeli people: "This is not an existential threat - we will win," he said.
Cohen agreed with the claim that the captives are a burden on Hamas: "To a large extent this is true. The fact that Hamas holds women, adults, children, and babies does not serve its interests. This is a breach of all previous limitations. We are exerting pressure on Hamas in this area, and I am taking part in doing so. Raids? I don't know and even if I did I wouldn't say."
Cohen estimated that "The oxygen, water, and food will also run out in the Hamas bunkers, and then a door will be opened for a decision and a breakthrough on the matter of the captives."
"There is an Iranian signature on this event - unequivocally, they are based on Iranian knowledge. There were other international arenas where Iranian knowledge was transferred to Hamas."
He also spoke about the efforts to free the captives: "Along with a limited team, I am also involved in extending the political clock as much as you need. I go on missions to foreign leaders. I think they should be shown the pictures of the horror, unequivocally."
"I think that Hamas and its rule must be eradicated. Hamas and [Islamic] Jihad must return the abducted to us. The goal should be to stop the threat and create a separate equation. We are capable of this task, we can reinvent the wheel in our favor. Our goal is to remove the threat from Israel and from Israel's surroundings completely."