by As Israel awaited a signal from Egyptian and Qatari mediators on whether Hamas military leaders were prepared to move forward in talks on a possible ceasefire and the release of hostages, differences were emerging between the families of the more than 100 captives being held. They remained in Gaza.
Some are pushing for a deal at all costs, while others are urging the government to continue fighting Hamas until victory. For months, the hostages’ families have been a key, and largely united, voice in pressuring the Israeli government to prioritize efforts to secure their release. Some are now backing calls to take a tougher stance toward Hamas, including blocking all aid to Gaza, even as the government is under international pressure to increase humanitarian assistance.
Those differences have added to political fighting in Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces threats from coalition partners and clashes with the opposition leader, who has offered him political cover for the release of hostages.
Exiled Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh said this week that Hamas had received the outline of an agreement, outlined on Sunday by American, Israeli, Egyptian and Qatari officials at a high-level meeting in Paris. Authorities have said the agreement outlines a gradual process that begins with a pause in fighting for several weeks, to allow the return of a first group of about three dozen of the most vulnerable hostages, including women and children who remain alive. as well as sick or injured captives, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. In later stages the truce could be expanded to include other categories of hostages, including soldiers.
Hamas leaders have demanded that any deal finally end the war in Gaza, a condition Netanyahu has rejected. Netanyahu said he would not release “thousands” of Palestinian prisoners, but he did not publicly rule out freeing prisoners valuable to Hamas, including many convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis.
As some details of the framework became public, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the leader of a far-right party that Netanyahu is banking on for a majority in Parliament, publicly threatened to leave the coalition, warning that “an excessive agreement “It is equivalent to dismantling the government.” Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right finance minister, has declared that ending the war is not an option.
In public, at least, Netanyahu was taking a hard line that appeared aimed at reassuring far-right coalition partners. in a video statement Released on Wednesday night, Netanyahu stressed that he would not accept a deal “at any price” and reiterated that Israel would not withdraw its forces from Gaza or release thousands of Palestinian prisoners.
“We are constantly working to free our hostages and achieve the other goals of the war: the destruction of Hamas and ensuring that Gaza is not a threat to Israel,” he said. “We are working on all three together and will not concede any of them.”
With Netanyahu’s power weak, opposition leader Yair Lapid this week offered to provide him with a political “safety net” for a hostage deal, either by voting for the opposition or temporarily joining his party. government. .
But the gesture was met with little enthusiasm by Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party. “Yair Lapid is pushing for an immediate end to the war, without a complete victory,” the party said in a statement on Wednesday. “We will not accept that.”
Lapid has not called for stopping the war and leaving Hamas leaders in Gaza in power, according to a person close to the opposition leader, but he has criticized Netanyahu’s refusal to present a strategy for the day after the war. in Gaza and a vision for the future of the enclave.
In an interview published in the Maariv newspaper on Thursday, Lapid said Netanyahu was “no longer fit” to serve as prime minister and called for an alternative government without him, or elections.
Pressure on Netanyahu has been increasing as some relatives of captives in Gaza, along with far-right politicians, have participated in protests at border crossings to try to block humanitarian aid from entering the enclave.
Many family members of hostages and their supporters have called for the release of hostages to be a higher priority than any other war objective, although others have urged the government not to accept any ceasefire or “a skewed agreement.”
Some Israeli military reservists and family members of hostages have planned a multi-day march that will begin Sunday near the Gaza border and culminate with a demonstration four days later in Jerusalem. “We hope this war will continue until final victory,” organizers said in a statement.
More than 240 people were taken hostage during Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on October 7, in which Israeli officials say 1,200 people were killed. During a seven-day pause in November, women and children were among more than 100 hostages freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
More than 27,000 people have been killed in Gaza in Israel’s retaliatory military campaign since October 7, according to health officials in the enclave.
Adam Rasgon contributed reports.
