Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer recently conducted a secret visit to the United Arab Emirates with a diplomatic delegation and met with top officials in the country to discuss the war in Gaza and a deal to free the hostages, Kan Reshet Bet reported on Tuesday.
UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed recently met with Opposition Leader Yair Lapid. The meeting angered those close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has still not paid a public visit to the country since the signing of the Abraham Accords.
On Monday, Bassam Na'im, one of the leaders of the Hamas terrorist organization, confirmed that the organization accepted the hostage deal proposal that Egyptian and Qatari mediators presented to it a day earlier. Israel confirmed that it received Hamas's answer.
The proposal consists of a partial deal based on US Envoy Steve Witkoff's outline, according to which ten living hostages and 18 deceased hostages will be returned during a 60-day ceasefire.