Senior Israeli official: Gaza hostage negotiation talks may continue beyond coming week

Senior officials in Israel’s political echelon believe that Gaza ceasefire negotiations in Doha may continue beyond the coming week, though they hope that the current talks could soon lead to a breakthrough.

Kan News reported this morning (Tuesday) that senior officials do not rule out another meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump, “if there is a need for it.”

A senior political source who spoke with journalists accompanying Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit to the United States said that it’s unclear whether Hamas will agree to release all the hostages. “The Witkoff outline says we’ll release eight hostages, then another two, and the rest – if we reach an agreement – you’ll get. If not – God is great,” said the senior official.

The source added that Hamas wants Israel to withdraw from all the routes in the Gaza Strip and that the Morag Corridor – where Israel insists in the talks on maintaining its presence, as well as in the Rafah area – is an important corridor. Outlining his vision for the day after the war, the official said, “There will be no Hamas in the Strip, another force will take over the territory, the leaders will be exiled, and the terrorist organization will lay down its arms.”

The official did not rule out the possibility that some of the forces controlling Gaza after the fighting ends would be composed of supporters of the Palestinian Authority, albeit without direct PA involvement. “I need Gaza to be demilitarized, and I mean it,” the senior political source asserted. “There must be a governing system that manages daily life. It’s not certain this wouldn’t be under Israeli administration, perhaps yes, temporarily.”

The senior political source also addressed the tensions between the political echelon and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir. “The Prime Minister has confidence in Chief of Staff Zamir. That doesn’t mean he has no criticism. He’s done an outstanding job. There’s criticism that must be voiced – I hope in a lower tone. There’s mutual respect between the military echelon and the political echelon – and vice versa.”

Another political source who spoke with reporters added that the current outline on the table in the negotiations is “80%-90% of the way there.” During Trump’s meeting with Netanyahu, the two discussed efforts to release hostages as well as a migration plan to encourage Gazans to leave the Strip. According to the senior political source, he was very impressed that Trump is eager to promote this move.

The senior political source addressed Netanyahu’s criminal trial and said: “The trial isn’t collapsing; the trial simply got shredded. Netanyahu is demanding that the trial be broadcast live. It’s a scandal that this isn’t happening.”

The source added that Netanyahu and his circle were surprised by Trump’s remarks about the trial. According to him, Trump himself raised this topic several times in conversations between the two of them and then decided to publish several posts on the matter.

The source also addressed the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state as part of negotiations to expand peace agreements and said that a Palestinian state will not be established.

Written by KAN 11 correspondents Gili Cohen and Suleiman Maswadeh.