A senior official in the hostage negotiations deal accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of stalling the deal, blaming him for bowing to the pressure of ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir.
According to the official, Netanyahu is currently in the minority within the narrow War Cabinet forum and faces resistance from security officials regarding the deal.
"Even when he accepts the terms of the deal in the smaller forums, the opposition from Smotrich and Ben-Gvir forces him to take a different stance in the broader security cabinet," the senior figure argued, adding that Netanyahu "undermines decisions and leaves the possibility of closing a deal hanging."
So far, the prime minister has not addressed the signals sent by the three hostages: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Omri Miran, and Keith Segal, in recent days.
As part of the Egyptian proposal, discussions are now underway for the second stage, which includes a one-year cease-fire. Israel has not agreed to this, posing a significant challenge on the path to a deal.
According to estimations by Israeli officials, the recent hostage videos released by the terror organization are intended to put pressure on Jerusalem to conclude a deal that would end the war. Meanwhile, Hamas is still "examining" Israel's proposal conveyed through intermediaries, and there is no indication yet of what Hamas' response will be.
"Despite the enthusiasm and significant efforts by Egypt, we will need to be patient," they said. "There have been good discussions in the past two days. We hope we are on the path to a deal. Hamas needs to respond, and they are also under pressure due to the expected operation in Rafah."
Following the accusations against senior negotiators in the deal, opposition leader Yair Lapid reiterated his support for the deal and offered "security backing" for Netanyahu. He called on him to "kick out," Ben-Gvir and Smotrich from his government. "Netanyahu, you have a majority of the Israeli people for the deal, you have a majority in the Knesset, and if needed, kick out Ben-Gvir and Smotrich from the government, and I'll give you 24 yes votes for a majority in the government. We must bring them home," he said.