The defense minister has called on the security cabinet to immediately reverse the decision taken on Thursday evening to maintain the presence of Israeli soldiers in the so-called Philadelphia corridori.e. the border strip between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
Control over this route has been one of the main sticking points in the negotiations for weeks. ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. Netanyahu is pushing for Israeli forces to remain there, something both Hamas and Egypt strongly oppose.
According to the Israeli Prime Minister, the army must control the corridor in order to prevent weapons smuggling to Hamas. Galant and the security establishment have long suggested that there are other ways to secure the Gaza border, and prolonging the negotiations endangers the hostages who are still alive.
During Thursday's security cabinet meeting, Galant was the only minister to vote against Netanyahu. According to media reports, the meeting ended the explosion of Galant, who accused the Prime Minister of his decisions could contribute to the death of hostages.
Hamas Hostages. More Bodies Found
The Israeli army said it had found the body on Saturday evening. in one of the tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip, the bodies of six kidnapped hostages“Autopsies showed that all of them died from shots to the head, within two days before their bodies were found,” the daily “Haaretz” reported.
During the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups murdered nearly 1,200 people and kidnapped 251. Among the hostages captured that day 97 are believed to still be in Gazathe Israeli army has previously stated that 33 people from this group are now dead.
Israel-Hamas Agreement. What Does It Assume?
Agreement with Hamas assumes a ceasefire and an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. The talks, which have been ongoing for many weeks irregular negotiations, so far, they remain at an impasse, despite pressure from the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt, who are brokering the talks. Both sides accuse each other of adding new conditions and blaming each other for the failure of the negotiations.
Some Israeli public opinion has long accused Netanyahu of abandoning the hostages and stalling negotiations for their release for political gain. His far-right coalition partners oppose the truce.
One of the largest organizations of hostage families has called for mass participation in Sunday's demonstrations in Tel Aviv and Jerusalemto force the government to accept the agreement and bring back the rest of the abductees. “You abandoned them, you have their blood on your hands, you could have saved them, but by voting against the agreement you sealed their fate,” the hostages' relatives wrote, addressing Netanyahu and his ministers.