The Prime Minister's Office published an unusual message on Sunday against those it referred to as "serial information leakers" who harm the formation of a hostage deal.
"There are serial information leakers who harm the ability to advance a deal. They claimed for months that Hamas would never agree to forgo the end of the war as a condition for a deal, and proposed surrendering to Hamas' demand. They were mistaken then, and they are mistaken now as well. The Prime Minister insisted on this basic demand, which is imperative for reaching the war's objectives, and Hamas changed its position," the Prime Minister's Office stated.
"Now as well, the Prime Minister insists that we remain in the Philadelphi Corridor to prevent the re-arming of terror elements. The Prime Minister will continue to work to advance a deal that would maximize the number of living hostages and would allow for the achievement of all of the war's objectives," the office added.
The Prime Minister's Office's statement was referring to remarks by sources in the negotiations team who said that the mandate that was given to the delegation which is set to travel to Cairo later in the week was "reduced," and it needs to be expanded in the future. According to the sources, without expanding their mandate, they would not be able to reach an agreement.