Israel warned Hamas it will carry out a major military operation unless the terror group accepts a deal on the table for the release of some, but not all, of the remaining 133 hostages.
“If there is a deal, we will suspend the operation,” Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Channel 12 as the IDF continued its preparations for the operation and Egypt renewed its push to secure a hostage deal after weeks in which it seemed that such efforts had hit a dead end.
“The release of the hostages is a deep priority for us,” Katz stressed. He spoke after an Egyptian delegation was in Israel on Friday for talks with Israel on the possibility of a new deal.
“If there is an option to make a deal, we will do it,” he said, although he stressed that this would not impact the overall goal of the war, which was to destroy Hamas.
Hamas considers Israel’s official response
Hamas said it had received on Saturday Israel’s official response to its latest ceasefire proposal and will study it before submitting its reply, the group’s deputy Gaza chief said in a statement.
“Hamas has received today the official response of the Zionist occupation to the proposal presented to the Egyptian and the Qatari mediators on April 13,” Khalil Al-Hayya, who is currently based in Qatar, said in a statement published by the group.
At issue has been the potential of the release of some 20 to 40 of the hostage — women, the elderly, and the informed — in exchange for a pause to the war, which in the past has been described as lasting six weeks. Israel would also be expected to release Palestinian security prisoners and terrorists held in its jails.
Hamas has insisted that it wants a permanent end to the war. Mediators have looked to move the issue forward without immediately addressing that point, as Israel has insisted that Hamas can no longer remain in Gaza and it must complete its military operation to destroy it.
Israeli officials told their Egyptian counterparts on Friday that Israel is ready to give hostage negotiations “one last chance” to reach a deal with Hamas before moving forward with an invasion of Rafah, Axios cited two Israeli officials as saying.
“Israel told Egypt that it is serious about preparations for the operation in Rafah and that it will not let Hamas drag its feet,” it quoted one of the officials as saying.
To increase pressure on Israel to make a deal, the terror group released on Saturday a video showing Keith Siegel (64) and Omri Miran (47) speaking. As a sign that the video was taken recently, they mentioned the Passover holiday.
On Saturday night, Omri’s father, Dan, addressed the rally at Hostage Square, in which protestors demanded that Israel make an agreement, telling the crowd, “I hope a deal will really happen now.”
He called on Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, to “Take a small step and spare bloodshed for both peoples.” Addressing Sinwar, he continues: “Show some humanity, and [Israel’s] cabinet will reciprocate, I am sure of it.”
To Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the war cabinet, Miran said, “Approve any deal, but any deal, that’s feasible. I implore you, one request: Make the decision now.”
Last week, Hamas released a video showing that Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, was also alive.
In an unusual move, Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari gave an interview to Israel’s KAN News. Qatar has also worked alongside Egypt to mediate a deal.
“Every day there is a delay in reaching a deal, more lives are lost, and the lives of the hostages are put at risk,” he said.
Every day that a deal is not reached means “further risk to the hostages,” he said, adding that there are narrow political considerations that are impeding the process.
Both Israel and Hamas can do more to reach a deal now,” he said.
“We have voiced our frustration with the commitment level of both sides. We are reassessing our role as mediators as a result of our feelings towards the seriousness of both sides and getting a deal. We believe that a lot more can be done from both sides and that we are doing all that we can right now, and we need more pressure on both sides. In order to reach it,” he said.
He also wanted that an Israeli operation in Rafah would have a “bearing on the negotiation process” and that escalation on the ground also puts the hostages at risk.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit Saudi Arabia on Monday and Tuesday to meet with regional partners and discuss efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages, the State Department said on Saturday.
“He will discuss the recent increase in humanitarian assistance being delivered to Gaza and underscore the importance of ensuring that increase is sustained,” the State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“The Secretary will also emphasize the importance of preventing the conflict from spreading and discuss ongoing efforts to achieve lasting peace and security in the region, including through a pathway to an independent Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel.”
Blinken is not scheduled to visit Israel on this trip.
Reuters and JPost Staff contributed to this report
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