Mossad Director David Barnea met in the past few days with family members of hostages being held in Gaza. Channel 12 reported on Monday that despite the renewed talks in Doha, the family members left the meeting disappointed since they were informed that the chances of a hostage deal were low.
According to the report, during the meeting, a relative of one of the hostages asked Barnea: "What's going on with the deal at the moment? The director answered: "I still haven't gotten an official answer from the mediator, not to the Qatari proposal, nor to the Egyptian proposal, and therefore it pays to wait. At the moment, the chances for a small deal are low, Hamas is insisting on ending the war."
The family member added and asked about ending the war, to which Barnea answered that the negotiations team had no mandate from the Prime Minister to discuss ending the war as part of a deal, and security-wise it was possible to handle a different plan for the Philadelphi Corridor.
While Hamas has not yet answered the most recent proposal, it is assumed that it would only accept a deal that ends the war.
A senior defense source told Channel 12 that Hamas probably would not back down from that demand. "The time has come to look reality in the eyes. If you want to obtain the goal of returning the hostages, you have to close up shop in Gaza and work for a framework that will ensure the State of Israel's security interests in the future. It's possible," the source stated.