Report: Top Israeli negotiator told hostages' families Gaza deal is unlikely anytime soon

Relatives of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip since October 7 say they were told by a senior member of the Israeli negotiating team that a hostage-ceasefire deal is unlikely in the near future, Channel 12 News reports.

“At the moment, it looks like a deal isn’t going to happen. Not even the first phase. The only way forward is to end the war,” the negotiator reportedly told the families.

“Keep acting to get the public behind bringing about an end to the war,” the source adds.

The report comes as a group of hostage families and supporters are protesting on Tel Aviv’s Begin Street outside IDF headquarters, after hundreds of thousands of people attended a mass rally there last night, calling on the government to secure a hostage-ceasefire deal.