Cabinet members are divided on the correct rate at which military pressure should be increased.
The Security Cabinet will convene on Tuesday evening for a meeting in which a decision is expected to be made on possibly ramping up the fighting in the Gaza Strip amid the stalemate in the hostage negotiations.
The political establishment expected that the military action, coupled with the limit on humanitarian aid, would pressure Hamas into accepting US Envoy Steve Witkoff’s framework for another hostage deal. However, the terror organization has so far rejected it.
The cabinet members are divided regarding the pressure on Hamas. The Prime Minister and Defense Minister are leading the opinion that Israel should gradually increase the military pressure in Gaza to allow for an additional deal. On the other hand, Minister Bezalel Smotrich believes the pressure should be increased significantly now to defeat Hamas completely, as is stated in the war’s objectives.
The BBC, citing a Palestinian Arab official, has reported that Qatar and Egypt have proposed a new deal for a five-to-seven-year halt to hostilities, the release of all Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian Arab prisoners held in Israeli jails, a formal end to the war, and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
The official called the current mediation effort “serious” and said the terror organization had shown “unprecedented flexibility”.
