A senior diplomatic source revealed to Israel Hayom on Wednesday that Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff has recommitted himself to negotiations aimed at preserving the hostage deal, following his recent successful mediation of an American citizen's release from Russian custody.
The diplomatic developments coincided with the arrival of a Hamas delegation in Cairo, headed by Khalil al-Hayya, for meetings with high-ranking Egyptian officials. Hamas officials indicated that the delegation is overseeing the implementation of the ceasefire and hostage release protocols through technical committees and intermediaries.
Israel Hayom has obtained exclusive information indicating that Israel's immediate priority is to preserve Phase One of the agreement, with the goal of securing the release of nine living civilian hostages from the 17 individuals designated for Phase One in the coming days, departing from the established pattern of Saturday releases. Notably, there is precedent for expedited releases, as demonstrated by the Thursday release of Arbel Yehoud.
During court proceedings today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed the judiciary, "Your Honors, I have an urgent consultation scheduled with the Defense Minister at 2:00 PM, which I anticipate will require approximately fifteen minutes."
In a decisive statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked Hamas for making the release of more hostages contingent on more Israeli humanitarian aid. "If Hamas fails to return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will terminate, and the IDF will resume intensive combat operations until Hamas' complete defeat," Netanyahu said.
