Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu announced that he spoke with US President-elect Donald Trump about the ongoing efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. According to Israeli sources, a potential deal could be finalized in under two weeks, although some issues remain unresolved.
Netanyahu stated that he and Trump had an in-depth discussion regarding “the efforts we are making to free our hostages,” but refrained from providing details. “We are working all the time, without rest, to bring our hostages home, the living and the fallen together,” he said. He emphasized, however, that “the less we talk about it, the better — that way, with God’s help, we will succeed.”
An Israeli source, speaking anonymously to Yisroel Hayom on Sunday, suggested that a ceasefire agreement involving hostage releases could be reached by Chanukah, which begins this year on December 25 in the evening.
At the moment, negotiations are stalled over disagreements about the number of hostages to be included in a partial deal. According to a Channel 13 report, Hamas is insisting on freeing far fewer individuals than Israel demands, and Israel is standing firm on its position.
Channel 12 reported Sunday night that during his conversation with Trump, Netanyahu urged the president-elect to ensure that the United States pressures negotiators into securing the release of a significantly higher number of hostages. The report indicated that Netanyahu described Hamas’s current proposal as “an unacceptable number” within the “humanitarian” framework.
Later on Sunday evening, Netanyahu held a meeting of the national security cabinet at the IDF Central Command headquarters in Yerushalayim. IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara were also in attendance.
During the meeting, senior officials from the Mossad and Shin Bet informed ministers that Hamas has shown a new openness to reaching an agreement, according to Ynet, which cited a high-ranking Israeli source. “The estimation is that we will be able to reach an agreement within weeks,” the source said.
The ministers also addressed the volatile security situation in the West Bank, Ynet reported. Recent clashes between Palestinian Authority forces and local terror groups have intensified violence in the region, raising concerns among Israeli authorities about potential spillover into Israeli territory.
{Matzav.com Israel}