The Security Cabinet is set to meet to review operational plans for Gaza, but the proposed mediator-backed hostage deal is not expected to be discussed unless ministers specifically request an update.
The meeting, scheduled to last until 7 p.m., comes amid continued tensions over the release of hostages taken by Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not responded to the proposal, with sources close to him saying he is focused on negotiating the return of all hostages as part of a broader end-of-war arrangement, rather than a partial deal.
The session is scheduled to end early due to Netanyahu and other ministers attending a VIP event hosted by settler leadership. Netanyahu may face demands to extend Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank in September, ahead of an anticipated French U.N. vote on Palestinian state recognition.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said Israel “does not want to respond” to the hostage deal proposal, urging the international community to apply pressure. “The location of negotiations is not an issue for Egypt or Qatar,” Al-Ansari said. “We are committed to our efforts until the end of the war and welcome any initiative on this matter. What Hamas agreed to aligns with what Israel has accepted. The ball is now in Israel’s court.”
Al-Ansari added that mediators remain in daily contact with both sides, but no formal Israeli response — acceptance, rejection, or counterproposal — has been issued. “We emphasize the need to push Israel to respond and take this issue seriously,” he said, warning that Israeli escalation on the ground “will not lead to positive results.”