Netanyahu trying to 'blow up’ potential deal with Hamas: Israeli sources

TEL AVIV

Sources from the Israeli negotiating team accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of attempting to “blow up” the talks and obstruct reaching a hostage swap deal with Hamas, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN said Tuesday.

This coincided with media leaks about a recent meeting Netanyahu had with representatives of the families of Israeli hostages in Gaza, during which he admitted that he was unsure about the possibility of reaching an agreement with the Palestinians.

“Netanyahu's statements aim to sabotage the negotiations,” the authority reported, citing sources in the Israeli negotiating team.

KAN added that “the prime minister is aware that we are in a critical period, as we are working on finding solutions for the Philadelphia Corridor and the Netzarim Passage and we will present this matter before the next meeting” with the mediators in Cairo, the date of which has not yet been set.

“Netanyahu is making statements that contradict what has been agreed upon with the mediators,” further said the broadcaster.

"Israel will not, under any circumstances, leave the Philadelphi Corridor and the Netzarim Axis despite the enormous pressure it is under to do so,” Netanyahu said earlier in statements cited by Israeli daily Maariv during a meeting with families of Israelis held captive in Gaza.

Gaza cease-fire talks in Qatar concluded on Friday by presenting "a proposal that narrows the gaps" between Israel and Hamas that is consistent with the principles set out by Biden on May 31.

Biden said in May that Israel presented a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave.

The plan includes a cease-fire, a hostage-prisoner exchange, and the reconstruction of Gaza.

But Hamas accused Netanyahu on Sunday of setting new conditions in the Gaza cease-fire and hostage swap proposal that was floated during the Doha talks.

“The new proposal meets Netanyahu's conditions and aligns with them, particularly his refusal of a permanent cease-fire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and his insistence on continuing the occupation of the Netzarim Junction (which separates the north and south of the Gaza Strip), the Rafah crossing, and the Philadelphi Corridor (in the south),” Hamas said in a statement.

“He also set new conditions in the hostage swap file and retracted from other terms, which obstructs the completion of the deal,” it added.

For months, the U.S., Qatar and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and cease-fire and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’s demands to stop the war.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023 despite a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The conflict has resulted in over 40,170 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and more than 92,740 injuries, according to local health authorities.

The ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.