Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant announced on Saturday that he convened a special meeting this evening with IDF, Mossad, and Shin Bet officials and representatives of the hostage negotiations team to discuss Israel's efforts to free the hostages.
Earlier in the day, Kan News reported that Minister Benny Gantz and Gadi Eizenkot asked during the day to speak with Prime Minister Netanyahu about the negotiations for a deal with Hamas but had so far not received an answer.
Netanyahu called a meeting of the War Cabinet for Sunday at 6:00 p.m., before a Security Cabinet meeting, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The two meetings will decide if the negotiations team led by Mossad Director David Barnea will leave for Doha on Monday.
Finance Minister and Security Cabinet member Bezalel Smotrich stated ahead of the meeting: "I opposed the participation of the delegation in the negotiations in Paris and Qatar last time and I was proven correct. Hamas's hallucinatory stance only puts Sinwar higher up on the tree and delays the return of the hostages even more."
Smotrich added: "The time has come that we wake up from the misconceptions and learn from mistakes. Netanyahu must order the delegation to stay in Israel and the IDF to enter Rafah immediately to deepen the military pressure until the destruction of Hamas. This is the only way that we, with G-d's help, will win and bring back the hostages."
An Israeli official stated this evening that if Hamas does not back down from its demands there would not be a deal. Hamas is demanding the release of 100 terrorist murderers whose names were decided by the organization. Another issue being contested is Hamas's demand for a permanent end to the war during the second stage of the deal.