Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused on Sunday night to allow a cabinet vote on a partial hostage deal following a request from National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and other ministers. “There is no need to vote; this is not on the table,” Netanyahu told those seeking to oppose the plan.
During the six-hour security cabinet meeting, however, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir presented the option of advancing a deal even if it does not involve the release of all hostages at once. Zamir laid out the advantages and voiced support, but many ministers expressed opposition. Despite calls for a vote, Netanyahu reiterated his stance that “there is no need, it’s not on the table.”
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IDF chief Eyal Zamir and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: Dana Kopel, Alex Kolomoisky)
The proposal under discussion includes the release of 10 living hostages and the return of 18 bodies over a 60-day period. During that time, negotiations would continue over the release of the remaining hostages, alongside a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
Netanyahu explained his opposition by saying Israel currently has “a limited diplomatic clock” with the Americans. A withdrawal from territory captured by the IDF during Operation Gideon’s Chariots, he warned, would carry “a heavy price.” He also echoed points raised by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Knesset lawmaker Ze’ev Elkin, who argued that if fighting resumes after 60 days, the deal would not only delay Israel’s advance into Gaza City by two months but effectively by six, since forces would first need to return to their former positions.
A protest for the release of the hostages
(Video: Ido Erez)
If Zamir had not raised the issue, the Hamas response to mediators would not have been discussed at all. Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, who heads the IDF’s Hostage Directorate, was not invited to the meeting.
The session, held in a secure underground government bunker under unusually heavy Shin Bet security following Thursday’s assassination of senior Houthi leaders in Sanaa, lasted until 1:30 a.m. Military plans for Gaza, including objectives and timelines that Netanyahu demanded be shortened, were also presented.
The absence of a substantive cabinet debate on the Hamas proposal deepened anger among hostage families. Lishay Miran-Lavi, whose husband Omri has been held in Gaza for 695 days, said: “It’s been two weeks since Hamas gave a positive response to the mediators. That means Omri could have been home. He could take Roni and Alma to their new kindergartens tomorrow. That’s not speculation—it’s a fact security officials confirm. Somehow, for two weeks, the government hasn’t found the time to respond.
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Israelis protest in Jerusalem for the release of the hostages
(Photo: Hazem Bader/ AFP)
“This isn’t naivety—it’s a deliberate move to sabotage a deal. A state that defeated Iran in 12 days can’t find time to answer Hamas? If it looks like sabotage, and sounds like sabotage—it’s probably deliberate sabotage. The government is cruelly sacrificing the hostages and the soldiers.”
Ruti Strum, mother of former hostage Iair Horn and current captive Eitan Horn, also urged action. “I ask you to stop the suffering of the families. Bibi, you know this is the right thing. There is a deal—start negotiations and keep going until the last hostage is freed. How long must my youngest son stay in the tunnels? You made a mistake separating my sons—you shattered me and my family. Enough. Bring them all home now,” she pleaded.
Earlier in the day, ahead of the meeting, the Hostage Families Forum urged the public to join a protest under the banner “The cabinet is disconnected from the people.” The demonstration began at 6 p.m. outside the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv. In a statement, the families wrote: “The cabinet deliberately avoids discussing a deal to bring back the hostages. This is further proof that Netanyahu’s government is set on endless war and sacrificing the hostages, in complete opposition to the will of the people. Only the people will bring them back.”