Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar (Likud) said on Sunday that there is no guarantee that the second phase of the hostage release deal will be implemented.
"We are committed to bringing all the hostages back home and at the same time committed to the security of the country," Zohar said in an interview on Kan Reshet Bet public radio.
He added, "There is a conflict between the goal we set in the war objectives, to topple the rule of Hamas and to stop Hamas' ability to govern the Gaza Strip, versus another goal, no less important of course, of bringing all the hostages back home. We will need to find the balance between these two goals."
Zohar added, "If Hamas entrenches itself in its position that it continues to rule and manage the Gaza Strip, we will return to war to defeat Hamas, no matter how long it takes, and at the same time, we will continue efforts to bring all the hostages back home."
"The only thing we can leave in Hamas' hands is exile. They can come and say ‘we are going to Turkey, or Qatar, or any other country’. In return, of course, we would want all the hostages back. We cannot allow an entire region of the Gaza envelope to be held by Hamas. We will not allow a situation where someone is afraid to return home because Hamas could do October 7th to him again. Therefore, we will work to restore security to all the towns in the Gaza envelope, and of course, in the same breath, to bring all the hostages back home," he emphasized.
Zohar noted that there is a chance that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might return from Washington and order the resumption of the war and not proceed to phase two of the hostage deal, after the meeting with President Donald Trump.