Netanyahu believes that the prisoner exchange proposal amounts to demanding that Israel surrender (Reuters)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected any conditions within the proposed deal to exchange prisoners and detainees with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) that would lead to Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, at a time when this issue is at the forefront of a meeting held by the Israeli War Cabinet this evening, coinciding with the storming of a group of prisoners’ families. The Israelis held a meeting of the Finance Committee in the Knesset.

Netanyahu said that he categorically rejects the prisoner exchange proposal because it amounts to demanding that Israel surrender, as he put it, and he said that continued military pressure is the only way to recover the Israeli hostages.

Israeli Channel 7 quoted Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich as confirming that he would not agree to a deal that included stopping the war in Gaza.

For his part, member of the Israeli War Council, Gadi Eisenkot, said that the fate of the hostages must take priority over the rest of the other war objectives, even if that means missing the opportunity to eliminate Hamas leaders, and he said that there is a need to reach an agreement soon if Israel wants to release them alive. .

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper explained that the head of the Israeli Mossad, David Barnea, will provide a briefing during the session on the progress made in formulating a possible new exchange deal with Hamas.

According to what Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported, the head of the Mossad will participate in the war council this evening, to provide information about a possible prisoner exchange deal with the Hamas movement that would crystallize a new deal.

Families of Israeli prisoners protest outside Netanyahu’s residence to demand the release of those detained by the Palestinian resistance (Reuters)

In a related context

A group of families of Israeli prisoners detained in the Gaza Strip stormed a meeting of the Finance Committee in the Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem on Monday, demanding that representatives make more efforts to try to release their relatives.

This move, carried out by about 20 people, comes amid growing opposition within Israel in the fourth month of its war on Gaza.

Last Sunday, the families of the prisoners set up tents near the home of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in West Jerusalem to demand that the government reach a deal to return the prisoners from the Gaza Strip.

For its part, the Hebrew newspaper "Haaretz" said on Monday that the families of 15 prisoners in the Gaza Strip met with Netanyahu in West Jerusalem, and added that "each family was allowed to send two representatives to the meeting."

The families of the Israeli prisoners said that Netanyahu informed them that there was no suitable deal to return the kidnapped people.

Netanyahu is facing criticism and a wave of anger over what was considered a “security failure” on October 7, when fighters from the Al-Qassam Brigades - the military wing of Hamas - were able to carry out a large-scale attack on the settlements adjacent to the Gaza Strip, in addition to failing to liberate Israeli prisoners in Gaza and even causing... A number of them were killed either during attempts to liberate them or as a result of the violent bombing of the Gaza Strip.

It appears that the efforts made by the United States, Qatar and Egypt to mediate another round of the release of detained prisoners are far from successful, amid Israel’s insistence on its goals, which include the destruction of Hamas, as it says. In return, the movement demands a comprehensive ceasefire, Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and the release of... Thousands of Palestinians were released from its prisons, including prominent leaders of Hamas.

On October 7, Hamas launched an attack on Israeli military points and settlements around the Gaza Strip, during which about 1,200 Israelis were killed, about 5,431 were wounded, and the movement captured at least 239.

Hamas exchanged 105 civilians detained by it, including 81 Israelis, 23 Thai citizens, and one Filipino during a temporary humanitarian truce that lasted 7 days and ended early last December, in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons (71 female prisoners and 169 children).

Israel estimates that there are about “136 hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip,” according to identical media reports and statements by Israeli officials.

Source: Agencies