PM holds meeting on hostage talks as Hamas gets, studies Israeli proposal, rejects disarmament

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a situational assessment this evening regarding the 59 hostages being held in Gaza, together with his hostage negotiating team and senior defense officials, the Prime Minister’s Office announces.

The premier “instructed the continuation of measures to advance the release of [the] hostages,” says the PMO in a statement.

Hebrew media reports that the consultation was held via phone, and included Shin Bet head Ronen Bar despite an escalating feud between him and the government, which has fired Bar but remains in his role due to an interim High Court order.

Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official tells AFP that the group is still preparing its response to an Israeli proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

“The movement’s response is still in preparation, and we affirm that there is no room for any partial deal,” says Mahmoud Mardawi, insisting that the group’s “weapons will not be subject to any negotiations.”

The Israeli military said earlier today that the ongoing campaign in the Gaza Strip is aimed at continuing to ramp up pressure on Hamas to bring the terror group to agree to a hostage deal, while also preparing the ground for a potential major offensive, though such an operation has not yet begun.

The current operation is being carried out slowly, both to ensure the safety of troops and guarantee that hostage talks can continue, said the IDF.

The military has set no deadline for when the major offensive would begin, and it would be decided upon by the political echelon.