Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Thursday that he had “instructed to begin immediate negotiations” for the release of all hostages held in Gaza and for ending the war “under conditions acceptable to Israel.”
But hours later, his office clarified to The Times of Israel that no Israeli delegation is being sent “at this stage” to Doha or Cairo, where mediators have been working on a ceasefire and hostage deal.
Netanyahu’s statement, delivered from the IDF’s Southern Command, left key questions unanswered — including to whom he had issued the negotiation order and whether Israel would accept the phased deal Hamas agreed to earlier this week. Under that plan, hostages would be released in stages in exchange for pauses in fighting.
The prime minister insisted Israel remains focused on “decisive victory” and endorsed IDF plans to expand operations to Gaza City. He tied the military campaign to the hostages’ fate, saying, “These two things — the defeat of Hamas and the release of all our hostages — go hand in hand.”
Families of the captives strongly disagree. They argue that further military escalation endangers their loved ones, who may be held in areas Israel is preparing to target. No hostages have been released since Israel abandoned a previous framework in March.
For now, the gap between Netanyahu’s rhetoric and his office’s clarification underscores the uncertainty surrounding Israel’s next steps in negotiations.
