Israel, hostage agreement infuriates Ben Gvir: “It will cause a disaster”

The agreement in sight between Israel and Hamas for the release of some of the hostages kidnapped in the October 7th attack makes Itamar Ben Gvir turn up his nose. The Israeli Minister of National Security attacked the agreement brokered by Qatar, which confirmed that the parties are ready to announce the pact a month and a half after the start of the war that led to the invasion of the Gaza Strip: “It is an agreement that could cause a disaster that Israel is achieving with Hamas thanks to Qatar’s mediation for the release of the hostages. I’m very worried because they talk about an agreement, they keep us away from the details and don’t tell us the truth. It appears that Israel will again make a serious mistake similar to the Shalit agreement.” The reference is to the negotiation that led to the release of the Israeli soldier in 2011 in exchange for more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners.

Meanwhile, a senior Israeli official confirmed that the parties are very close to an agreement that would lead to the release of some of the hostages, at least 50 people. Some technical details still need to be defined. Last night, on Telegram, the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, announced that “we are close to a truce agreement”.