The Arab World Press quoted “Times of Israel” today (Thursday) as saying that the War Council ordered the negotiation team to resume work on a deal to release dozens of prisoners held by Hamas and other armed Palestinian factions inside the Gaza Strip.
The newspaper reported that the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement following a meeting of the War Council formed following the October 7th attack, stating that a “high-level meeting” instructed Israeli negotiators to continue negotiations to release the prisoners.
Indirect negotiation rounds hosted by Cairo failed to reach an agreement to cease fire in the Gaza Strip and release the prisoners, including military personnel.
The war in the sector only paused for seven days since it erupted on October 7th, when Egypt, Qatar, and the United States succeeded in brokering a series of truces under which a number of prisoners were exchanged and the fighting ceased for seven days.
“Haaretz” quoted an unnamed source as saying that last night’s meeting was long, deep, and professional.
The source added that the ministers discussed proposals from the negotiation team aimed at resuming negotiations with Hamas and discussing its demand for a complete cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip, despite the political leadership’s opposition to this agreement.
The sources also mentioned that the ministers in the War Council made decisions aimed at giving negotiators more room to maneuver.
