Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there is no need to feel pressured to make a deal with Hamas. "Hamas should feel pressured. The hostages are suffering but they are not dead," he told his ministers in a cabinet meeting late on Tuesday.
In the meeting, the ministers received a briefing from Israel's negotiating team about the aspects of a cease-fire deal in exchange for the release of the 120 hostages, dead or alive, still held by Hamas in Gaza. Among the points in dispute are Israel's withdrawal from the Philadelphi corridor on the Egyptian border with Gaza and the return of displaced civilians to the northern areas.
On Tuesday the families of female soldiers held captive in Gaza showed photos of their daughters from a clip filmed by the terrorists soon after they were abducted. Shira Elbag, mother of Liri, one of the girls, told Ynet on Wednesday that the families received a sign of life from the girls in the spring and said they were surviving in the tunnels where they have been held for the past seven months.
During Tuesday's cabinet meeting, the ministers were told that the chances of reaching a deal are "not bad because Hamas is at a difficult point." The officials who spoke said it was important to engage in negotiations immediately because it would take weeks to iron out the details. It is vital to take advantage of the opportunity that is at hand, they said.
Meanwhile Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that if a deal is not struck within the next two weeks, the fate of the hostages would be sealed. Speaking in a closed-door meeting, he accused the prime minister of placing obstacles in the way of an agreement, to protect his coalition.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told Netanyahu that their parties would leave the government if there is a deal with Hamas, leaving the prime minister without the majority he needs in order to remain in power.
In the Knesset on Wednesday Netanyahu said Israel is making progress toward achieving its goals in the war, which are to eliminate Hamas and ensure that Gaza can pose no security threat to Israel. "Hamas is under pressure because we are destroying its tunnels and killing thousands of its terrorists," he said. "Hamas understands we are not buckling to the immense external and internal pressure."