Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer met yesterday in Paris with a delegation of senior Qatari officials to discuss the ongoing hostage-release and ceasefire negotiations, an Arab diplomat tells The Times of Israel.
During the meeting, Dermer reiterated the Israeli stance that it is only interested in a comprehensive deal in which Hamas releases all of the hostages at once and agrees to Jerusalem’s terms for its surrender from power, the Arab diplomat says, confirming a Channel 12 report.
The network also says that Israel for the time being has decided to avoid responding at all to the phased hostage release deal proposal approved on Monday by Hamas.
No security cabinet meeting has been scheduled to even discuss the proposal, which is nearly identical to the one crafted by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and approved by Israel last month.
Instead, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed the IDF to speed up plans to take over Gaza City.
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From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
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