Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reportedly warned ahead of time by security officials that a strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar would harm hostage negotiations, but signed off on the Tuesday operation anyway.
Netanyahu was told that the timing for such a strike would be particularly damaging, as Hamas was in the process of deliberating a hostage deal proposal backed by Israel, and that it was worth giving the effort a chance, Channel 13 reports.
Netanyahu “chose not to accept the position of 90% of the recommendations from the security establishment, including the IDF chief of staff, the head of the National Security Council and the head of the Mossad,” a senior Israeli official tells the network.
A source familiar with the negotiations told The Times of Israel that hostage negotiations have been frozen since the strike, and Channel 12 reported that Israel expects Hamas to harden its stance and for Qatar to lose its motivation to pressure Hamas as a result of the operation.
Jacob Magid contributed to this report.
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