Major-General (res.) Avihu Ben-Nun told reporters at a briefing on Monday that he believes Hamas values kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit’s life too much to kill him, and they know if they kill him, we will find them,” he said simply.

Shalit, held captive by Hamas terrorists in Gaza since June 2006, is probably in good condition, regardless of the psychological war games Hamas is playing in the media, according to the former IAF commander.

Hamas announced Monday morning that Shalit had been wounded in bombing by IAF warplanes during the launch of Operation Cast Lead in Gaza over the weekend.

There are a number of reasons that Hamas values Shalit, said Ben-Nun. “First, because he is worth a lot to us,” he said, “and therefore he is worth a lot to them in negotiations.”

The former air force chief, who headed Israel’s air defense during the Gulf War, said he doesn’t believe Hamas will kill Shalit, no matter what threats they make, because “they aren’t stupid. They know if they kill him, we know the people who are involved in that. We know the families. We don’t necessarily know where they are, but we will find them. And they know if they kill him, we will find them,” he said simply.

Israeli intelligence sources might even know where he is being held, he added – "or knew where he was being held, last week, or the week before." The terrorists "are moving him all the time, like they did with Ron Arad," said Ben-Nun, making it difficult to plan an operation to rescue the captive soldier.

"But even if he were in the West Bank, it is difficult to know if he is in the right place at the right time," Ben-Nun said. "You have to assess the situation, and if you see that 10 people will be killed in an operation to rescue him, and when you get there, he won’t be alive, or might not even be there at all, then you have to look for other, more successful options," he explained.

IAF Commander’s View of Gaza Operation

Ben-Nun said he believes that 90 percent of Israel’s population supports the current military activity in Gaza. He added that the long delay leading up to Operation Cast Lead was probably responsible for the high level of national unity, which he said he personally has not seen in the country since the 1967 Six Day War.

Ultimately, he said, there are very few choices facing the Jewish State when it comes to stopping the rocket fire from Gaza: either wipe out the terrorists’ military capability entirely or destroy their motivation for making war against Israel.

Of the two options, he said, it is easier for the Air Force to address the second objective. "The Air Force alone cannot completely stop the rocket launches," he said. "For that, you need ground forces. But the air force can create deterrent conditions which eliminate the terrorists’ desire to fight, which make them understand that it is not worth it to them to continue to make war against us."

The air force alone also cannot destroy all 800 tunnels built by Hamas terrorists in the region because we don’t know where all of them are," he added. The Air Force can destroy the tunnels it knows about. The problem is finding the ones that it doesn’t know about – and for that, you need ground forces."

The Second Lebanon War, he said, was problematic in that it destroyed Israel’s deterrent capability, creating the necessity of re-establishing its military credibility in the region.

"In order to completely eliminate the rocket fire, we have to take into consideration that we will have to go back into Gaza, not to rule, but to change the reality on the ground, according to Ben-Nun. " We don’t want to return there," he emphasized. "I don’t think anyone wants to, although maybe Hamas wants us to," he commented wryly, "but we will probably have to, and then turn it over to the control of Egypt and let Hamas deal with the Egyptians instead of us."