Chances of an Israel-Hamas hostage deal 'close to zero'

The United States, which said it was planning to present a new proposal in the next two or three days, is now considered unworkable, Channel 12 revealed, citing great frustration among Israeli negotiators who believed it was possible to at least reach a deal between Israel and intermediaries that would then be passed on to Hamas.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's press conference last Monday, in which he repeatedly insisted on maintaining IDF control of the Philadelphia Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border – a position not explicitly stated in the May proposal Netanyahu approved – "buried" the chance of a deal. Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar then hardened his stance.

The prospects for progress were further dented when Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the Philadelphia corridor was not the only “red line,” and he also opposed the IDF’s withdrawal from the Netzarim Corridor and the release of Palestinian security prisoners serving sentences for murder. The stance taken by Smotrich, who heads the far-right Religious Zionist Party, a key component of Netanyahu’s coalition, essentially “wrecked” Israel’s proposal in May.

Channel 12 quoted a source close to the negotiations as saying: "It seems that the current proposal will not materialize at this point. There is no prospect of a phased agreement." The channel said a senior Israeli negotiator had told the hostage families that "even the first phase" of the deal - a six-week ceasefire in which women, children and sick hostages would be released - was unlikely to be implemented. "The only way forward is to end the war," the negotiator was reported to have said, adding: "Keep working to get public support for ending the war."