Hamas returns to Egypt, Israel cabinet convenes amid Gaza cease-fire push
As Israel awaits Hamas' response to the Egyptian-mediated hostage-release/cease-fire deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted there are disagreements within the war cabinet over a military operation in Rafah.
Israel’s war cabinet is currently discussing the hostage-release proposal while waiting for Hamas to deliver its response. The larger security cabinet is set to meet after the war cabinet meeting ends on Thursday as Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh told Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry over the phone that a delegation will arrive to Cairo to further discuss the proposal.
Hamas representatives received the current Egyptian-mediated offer last Monday, but Israel now estimates that a response might not arrive on Thursday evening but rather on Friday or even later, reported Ynet.
Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that the war cabinet is divided over a possible military operation in Rafah. Netanyahu said, "There were, and are, disagreements among us on actions in near-by and far-away arenas. But at the end of the debate, I received a decision, and that decision was adopted. We acted there, and we will act here as well. We will do what it takes to defeat our enemies, including in Rafah."
Reports in Israeli press this week have indicated that war cabinet ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot are pushing for a deal to be reached, even if the cost would be delaying the Rafah operation for a long period. In contrast, Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel should go into Rafah "deal or no deal."
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders he met with earlier this week while in Israel that a hostage deal must be reached soon so as not to miss the chance of advancing normalization with Saudi Arabia, reported the Times of Israel, citing two unnamed officials. Blinken warned that the window of opportunity for a deal is closing and that a major Israeli military operation in Rafah would likely shut it completely.
Egypt is trying to convince Hamas that if it releases hostages, Israel will have no reason to resume fighting in the Gaza Strip, reported Haaretz, citing Arab diplomats. The diplomats confirmed Wednesday’s report in the Lebanese Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper Al-Akhbar, which stated the Egyptian proposal does not include an explicit commitment by Israel not to return to the Gaza Strip. Egypt, said the report, is trying to convince Hamas that the wording in the proposal — "a prolonged cease-fire" — is safe enough for the organization.
