The Israeli military’s chief of staff demanded on Thursday that his country go ahead with a deal with Hamas that would guarantee the release of Israeli captives, according to two sources.
Herzi Halevi’s move during a security discussion prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the session, the sources cited by Israeli news website Walla reported.
Discussions started at 11pm local time (8pm GMT), with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, the heads of the Mossad and Shin Bet intelligence agencies, and other senior security officials also in attendance.
It comes as a Gaza ceasefire deal has still yet to be reached after more than nine months of an Israeli war that has killed at least 38,919 people in the Palestinian enclave, according to its health ministry.
Halevi made clear that a deal with Hamas is necessary to achieve the goals of the Gaza war, and especially given the situation the Israeli military is in at this stage, according to sources who spoke with Walla. ….more
