War cabinet meeting on hostage deal reportedly ends, security cabinet set to meet

The three-member war cabinet has completed its meeting to discuss Israel’s position in talks in Doha to secure a hostage release deal, according to Hebrew media reports.

The security cabinet is now expected to meet to decide the issue in the broader forum.

An Israeli delegation is expected to travel to Doha tomorrow for further talks on the proposed deal and to cover the remaining gaps between Israel and Hamas, including the number of Palestinian prisoners who could potentially be released in exchange for the remaining Israeli hostages, as well as humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The war began on October 7 with Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel in which terrorists rampaged through the south, murdering some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 253.

It is believed that 130 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released prior to that. Three hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 11 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military.