Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a rare note of optimism about the possibility of a deal to secure the release of the remaining 101 hostages as he spoke with the Likud faction in the Knesset on Monday.
“Hamas is putting forward conditions that we can’t agree to,” Netanyahu said, adding that it now seemed that “those conditions could be rescinded.
“If they are retracted, it won’t be because Hamas wants to retract them, but because there would be a pause to the war” that would allow for Hamas to leave the tunnels where they have been hiding, he said.
“That is what we are discussing right now, and it’s possible we could succeed,” Netanyahu said.
He spoke during a closed-door meeting, but a leaked tape of the conversation was published by KAN News.
Egypt President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Sunday had said he was promoting a mini deal by which four hostages would be freed in exchange for a purse to the war.
Netanyahu's office clarified that if a proposal to release four hostages in exchange for a 48-hour ceasefire in Gaza "were made, the Prime Minister would accept it on the spot."
High-level Doha talks renew hostage deal efforts
Both Netanyahu and Sisi spoke as CIA Chief William Burns held talks in Doha this week with Mossad Chief David Barnea and Qatari Prime Minster Mohammed Al-Thani.
Barnea traveled to Doha on Sunday and returned on Monday.
The Prime Minister’s Office said, “The sides discussed a new unified framework that integrates previous proposals and also takes into account the main issues and recent developments in the region.
“The discussions between the mediators and Hamas will continue in the coming days in order to evaluate the feasibility of talks and the continued effort to advance a deal,” it added.
The talks marked the first high-level discussion on a hostage deal that has been held since Hamas executed six of the captives, including Israeli-US citizen Hirsch Goldberg-Polin.
They took some two weeks after the IDF assassinated Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, whom the US and Israel viewed as a stumbling block to achieving a deal.
Qatar and Egypt, with the help of the US, have been the main mediators for talks. Egypt was not present for the initial Dohan discussions but is expected to join future talks.
Until late August, when the talks came to a halt, the US had been pushing for a three-phase deal based on the framework US President Joe Biden first unveiled at the end of May.
Talks now appear to be moving forward based on a new framework, the details of which are still unknown.
In speaking to the Likud faction, Netanyahu underscored the US message that as long as Sinwar headed Hamas, there was no chance of a deal.
His replacement, Netanyahu said, would likely be even more obstinate than he was.
“He will be even more Sinwar than Sinwar was,” he said.
“But we are working all the time to return them. At this point, we are trying to achieve partial solutions,” Netanyahu told the Likud faction.
Despite the renewed talks and optimistic statements on the potential for a deal, KAN News reported that senior hostage negotiator Brig.-Gen. Oren Setter resigned from the negotiating team. Setter, who served as deputy to Maj.-Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon was instrumental in shaping the current negotiation framework.