Senior defense officials intend to press the Cabinet to prioritize a hostage deal over a planned military takeover of Gaza, Channel 12 News reported Friday evening. The decisive Cabinet meeting on the Gaza operation is scheduled for Sunday.
A senior defense official told Channel 12 that “living hostages could have been home last week,” adding that “there is a deal on the table that Israel fought for. We must take it, bring back living hostages, and use the ceasefire to end the fighting.”
The official warned that “any other decision, particularly the notion that Hamas will surrender if we enter Gaza, is a reckless gamble at the expense of hostages’ and soldiers’ lives.”
Defense officials are pushing for a deal that Hamas agreed to last week, based on the Witkoff framework - Israel’s long-standing demand. The proposal would see 10 hostages released within two months of a ceasefire. Despite this, the Cabinet opted to approve a plan to take over Gaza and now insists on a comprehensive agreement.
According to the report, during Sunday’s Cabinet discussion, all defense officials - including National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi - plan to present a united front backing the Chief of Staff’s call to pursue the deal.
The report also noted that Israel has yet to formally respond to Hamas’s proposal, received two weeks ago. Senior defense officials reportedly expressed bewilderment that a framework endorsed by Israel and signed by Prime Minister Netanyahu six months ago has not even been brought to the table. They argue that Israel must sign the deal and avoid a high-stakes operation in Gaza.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)