Netanyahu blocks cabinet vote on partial hostage deal as IDF chief warns against Gaza City operation

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Knesset member Ze’ev Elkin warned that a two-month ceasefire could delay the IDF’s advance not by weeks, but by half a year.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to allow a cabinet vote on a proposed partial hostage deal during a stormy security cabinet meeting that stretched late into the night on Sunday, despite pressure from both supporters and opponents of the plan.

The six-hour session, held in a secure underground bunker in Tel Aviv under heavy Shin Bet protection, focused primarily on Israel Defense Forces’ operational plans for Gaza City. But Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir insisted the cabinet also address Hamas’s response to mediators, which included an offer for the release of 10 living hostages and the return of 18 bodies in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and a 60-day ceasefire.

Zamir warned ministers that pressing ahead with plans to conquer Gaza City risked dragging Israel into “a military government” without a clear exit strategy. “Your plan is leading us there. Understand the implications,” he reportedly cautioned, arguing that the IDF’s progress in Operation Gideon’s Chariots had already created conditions for a negotiated return of captives.

Netanyahu dismissed calls for a vote, stating, “There is no need; it is not on the table.” He cited pressure from Washington, saying Israel faced “a limited diplomatic clock” with the United States and argued that halting operations would exact “a heavy price.” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Knesset member Ze’ev Elkin echoed his position, warning that a two-month ceasefire could delay the IDF’s advance not by weeks, but by half a year.

Right-wing ministers reportedly accused Zamir of cowardice for backing the deal, while Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs reiterated the government’s formal opposition to a military administration in Gaza. Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, head of the IDF Hostage Directorate, was notably absent from the session.

Outside the political chamber, frustration mounted among hostage families. Lishay Miran-Lavi, whose husband, Omri, has been held in Gaza for 695 days, said, “It’s been two weeks since Hamas gave a positive response to the mediators. That means Omri could have been home. He could take Roni and Alma to their new kindergartens tomorrow. That’s not speculation—it’s a fact security officials confirm. Somehow, for two weeks, the government hasn’t found the time to respond.”