Katz tells US counterpart Israel has chance to reach deal for release of all hostages

Defense Minister Israel Katz tells his US counterpart Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that there is an opportunity to reach a deal for the release of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza amid renewed negotiations.

“There is a chance for a new deal right now that will hopefully release all the hostages, including those with American citizenship,” Katz says, according to an Israeli readout of the call.

The two also discussed the developments in Syria following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the subsequent Israeli seizure of the buffer zone on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, the Defense Ministry says.

The statement adds that the two defense officials “agreed on the danger posed by Iran and its [weapons] shipments, and agreed to cooperate to prevent attempts to smuggle weapons from Iran to Lebanon via Syria.”