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As negotiations between Israel and Hamas resume over a potential hostage release deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Hungary at the invitation of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Netanyahu informed the Jerusalem District Court, where he is on trial for corruption, that he will leave for Budapest on Wednesday and plans to remain there through the weekend.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán
(Photo: Reuters)
Netanyahu told ministers at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting that the military pressure on Hamas was working. "Military and diplomatic pressure are the only way to bring our hostages back," he said.
Major gaps remain in the negotiations to bring about the release of hostages held by Hamas, despite recent efforts by the mediating countries. Israel continues to support the framework proposed by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, which would see 11 living hostages and the remains of several others released, in exchange for a weeks-long truce in the fighting in Gaza and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
Hamas, in contrast, has agreed to release five living hostages but refuses to return any remains. In exchange, it is demanding a 50-day cease-fire—equivalent to one hostage for every 10 days, a demand Israel has rejected.
Israel is now demanding the return of remains over a significantly shorter timeframe. Talks are also focusing on broader conditions, and Israeli sources said that if the current offer was accepted, discussions would advance to the second phase of the cease-fire deal agreed to last January, potentially involving delegations to Cairo or Doha.
“The proposal reached us over the weekend, and we held consultations and discussions before sending a counteroffer,” an official said. “Negotiations are constant. Even when there are no delegations, contact with the mediators and the Americans is continuous.”
Families are frustrated with the government's response
While talks continue, many among the families of the hostages said they were still waiting for concrete results. They held a prayer service to mark the new month in the Jewish calendar, outside the Jerusalem home of Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who leads the Israeli negotiating team. According to a senior defense official quoted by Ynet, Dermer “does not see the need to take an active part in most meetings with foreign officials and negotiators.”
“It’s unthinkable to celebrate another holiday without them," Ilay David, brother of hostage Evyatar David, said. "My brother Evyatar, who was kidnapped from the Nova festival along with his friend Guy Gilboa, should have been home long ago. We are here to pray and to give strength to the negotiating team. We are here to remind Minister Dermer of his duty to save 59 souls.”
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Hostage families demonstrating outside the home of Minister Ron Dermer
(Photo: Shalev Shalom)
David said this must be Israel’s top national interest. "This is the most important thing for every Israeli and every Jew. Dermer’s mission is immense. You were chosen by the prime minister; you are the key figure to bring an agreement," he said, addressing his message to the minister. "The public and the families demand answers—when will there be a deal? When will all the hostages return together?”
Levi Ben Baruch, uncle of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, said the families were expressing the voices of the hostages crying out from the depths of the Hamas tunnels. "Mr. Dermer, today is the first of Nisan, the second year these hostages remain in captivity. I urge you to place your heart in the right place—just as the High Priest was commanded to wear the breastplate over his heart, bearing the names of the 12 tribes of Israel.”
Yehuda Cohen, father of hostage Nimrod Cohen, said the government should have already entered the second phase of negotiations. “This should be an Israeli interest—nationally, morally, and legally. The Netanyahu government has not done it,” he said.
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Asked about hopes that a future Trump administration might help secure another deal, Cohen replied, “Only the Israeli government is obligated to free the hostages, not the U.S. administration. Let’s not be mistaken. The fact that the U.S. helps is one thing. Trump pushed for the first deal, and we were grateful, but in the end, he has his own agenda. He’s now focused on Ukraine, Russia, Canada, and Greenland.”
Cohen also said the family had received signs of life from Nimrod through Yarden Bibas, “who was with him from December to May last year, and later through Sagui Dekel-Chen and Iair Horn, who were with him during the last eight months—up until about six weeks ago.”