ALBAWABA - Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, said that a 60-day peace deal with Hamas might be completed in the next few days. This comes as informal talks between the two sides continue in Doha, Qatar. Still, Hamas said that Netanyahu was not being honest and was putting up barriers to a complete deal.
In an interview with Newsmax, Netanyahu said that the current plan calls for the release of half of the remaining hostages, both alive and dead. There are currently 10 people still being held captive and about 12 bodies. He also said that the war could stop right away if Hamas gave up its weapons.
Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Gaza, gave his backing to U.S. President Donald Trump again, calling him Israel's best friend ever in the White House. He also said that Israel would start military actions again if Hamas wasn't broken up within the 60-day peace time.
In Washington, the Israeli leader talked with the families of prisoners and promised that the hostages would be returned. Israeli sources say that Hamas will decide which prisoners are freed under the deal. This has caused families to ask what factors are used to make these choices.
Members of Netanyahu's far-right alliance spoke out strongly against what he said. Itamar Ben Gvir, Minister of National Security, and Bezalel Smotrich, Minister of Finance, both said that talks with Hamas would make the group stronger and hurt Israel's security. These people didn't want to make a deal; instead, they wanted to destroy Hamas completely.
In reaction, Hamas said in a statement that Netanyahu was deliberately blocking a deal that would free all the prisoners and make sure that Israel would leave Gaza completely. The group made it clear that it was committed to fair talks, but it also said it would not accept any deal that gave in to its demands or the sacrifices of its people.
At the same time, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was positive about the continuing talks, saying that progress was being made. He did say, though, that Hamas's unwillingness to disarm was still a big problem.
