TEL AVIV - Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz reportedly told Knesset lawmakers on Monday that Israel is “closer than ever” to closing a deal with Hamas to free the hostages held in Gaza, bolstering Arab media reports of heavy optimism on the chances for an agreement in the coming weeks. Katz’s comments to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee were made behind closed doors but leaks of his remarks were reported widely in the Hebrew press.
“Israel is closer than ever to another hostage deal,” Katz was quoted as saying. He added that the less said the better, echoing comments made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday after he discussed with US President-elect Donald Trump the ongoing efforts to free the abductees being held by Hamas in Gaza. “We are working all the time, without rest, to bring our hostages home,” Netanyahu said in a statement after the call, giving scant details: “The less we talk about it, the better — that way, with God’s help, we will succeed.”
Katz also predicted that the deal on the table would be backed by most of the coalition and should not face internal obstacles, according to the Walla news site. He seemingly indicated that the deal would not include an open-ended halt to hostilities, a measure sought by Hamas but opposed by many in Netanyahu’s hard-right coalition.
“There’s flexibility on the other side. They understand we’re not going to end the war,” he was quoted as saying, in the latest indication that the sides may be moving closer toward a deal to free the hostages kidnapped during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre and stop the fighting, even if temporarily.
