Katz optimistic on possible hostage deal amid renewed efforts
Defense minister says Hamas facing immense pressure to end Gaza fighting; Trump team reportedly probes hostage issue as Israel awaits truce offer response
Defense Minister Israel Katz voiced optimism Wednesday on the likelihood of securing a deal for the release of Gaza hostages, amid reports that an Israeli delegation will visit Cairo on Thursday for talks.
Katz’s remarks, made during a visit to Tel Nof Airbase, came as Israel was waiting to hear Hamas’s response to an Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire.
“The most important thing today in the war is to bring the hostages home,” Katz said in remarks released by his office. “This is the supreme goal that stands before us, and we are working in every way to make this happen.
“The intensity of the pressure on this monstrous organization called Hamas is increasing and there is a chance that this time we can really advance a hostage deal,” the defense minister said.
Also on Wednesday, the Al-Araby al-Jadeed newspaper reported that an Israeli delegation headed by Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar was expected to visit Cairo on Thursday for talks on a potential hostage release-ceasefire deal.
The Qatari-owned, London-based outlet said that the Israeli delegation would include “a special envoy” from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. No further details were given.
According to the report, Egypt will present a new draft of its proposal after holding talks with officials from Hamas. The proposal includes “broad lines that can be moved around,” the report stated.
Following the report, however, the Axios news site cited unnamed Israeli security officials who said that they were unaware of any delegation slated to travel to Egypt on Thursday.
Ceasefire efforts have picked up in recent days. On Tuesday, a report claimed that a close aide to US President-elect Donald Trump had reached out to ex-defense minister Yoav Gallant for information about hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli officials have pressed the incoming US leader to take a firm stance against the Palestinian terror group on the matter, and earlier in the week, Trump warned Hamas that there would be “hell to pay” if the hostages are not released by the time he takes office on January 20.
Channel 12 reported behind-the-scenes activities before Trump’s declaration. These included a drive by Israeli officials to impress upon the US president-elect the condition of the remaining 97 hostages who are still in captivity. Trump was said to be surprised when President Isaac Herzog last month told him in a phone call that half are still alive rather than the vast majority being dead, as Trump had previously asserted.
A close aide to Trump called Gallant, who was fired by Netanyahu in November, to find out what he knew about the hostages, Channel 12 reported, without naming the assistant.
The network interpreted the move as part of efforts by Trump’s team to get a clear picture of the situation from alternative sources.
Israel, meanwhile, was awaiting Hamas’s response to the Egyptian truce proposal. A delegation from the terror group was in Cairo, and the response was expected to come sometime Wednesday.
Israel officials told Channel 12 that until there is a response, no Israeli delegation will head to Cairo for further mediated talks. A senior Egyptian official, not named in the report, told the network that “a breakthrough is expected in the coming days.”
However, the report said that families of hostages who spoke with a senior Israeli negotiator before Trump’s announcement this week were given a less optimistic assessment.
The negotiator told them that “there is no significant progress in talks” due to disagreements on a permanent end to the war, a condition that Hamas has consistently insisted on as part of any ceasefire.
The official reportedly told the families that Hamas has not agreed to a deal without an end to the war and that Israel’s negotiators do not have a mandate to agree to any compromise on the matter. Far-right elements of Netanyahu’s coalition have threatened to bolt the government if a deal is made that ends the war before Hamas is completely destroyed in Gaza.
Channel 12 noted that, unusually, there have been no leaks about progress on the talks, which may indicate that there is a real possibility of reaching a deal.
Netanyahu reportedly told a recent small gathering of ministers that complete secrecy is needed for the success of current contacts.
At a special cabinet meeting Tuesday in the northern coastal city of Nahariya, Netanyahu thanked Trump for his “hell to pay” remarks on social media.
“It is a very strong statement,” said Netanyahu at the opening of the meeting, “which makes it clear that there is one party responsible for this situation — and that is Hamas. Hamas must release the hostages.”
Trump, Netanyahu continued, “put the emphasis in the right place — on Hamas, and not on the Israeli government, as is customary in some places.”
Protesters and some hostage families accuse Netanyahu of not doing enough to reach a deal with Hamas to get the hostages out of Gaza.
Despite the Egyptian efforts, the White House acknowledged Monday that there was no breakthrough to report.
Ninety-seven of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 37 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
