Israeli sources have told Haaretz that they believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to sabotage the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal and that Israeli negotiators headed to Qatar will not advance the agreement to its second phase.
“It’s a show,” one source told Haaretz. “Netanyahu is signaling quite clearly that he doesn’t want to move to the next phase. He’s sending a team without a mandate and without the ability to do anything.”
The report comes as Netanyahu is returning to Israel after his week-long trip to the US, where he received a strong show of support from President Trump and congressional lawmakers. During the visit, Trump advanced new arms deals for Israel, sanctioned the International Criminal Court (ICC) on behalf of Netanyahu, and floated his plan for a US “takeover” of the Gaza Strip, which has emboldened Netanyahu and his allies to advance their goal of ethnic cleansing.
Another source speaking to Haaretz said Netanyahu’s conduct could jeopardize the current phase of the ceasefire. “The process is working, hostages are being released, but Hamas is doing this with the expectation of a second stage, leading to a [full] ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Once Hamas realizes there won’t be a second stage, they may not complete the first,” the source said.
Israeli forces have continued to kill Palestinians inside Gaza throughout the ceasefire, but so far, Hamas hasn’t responded. It’s possible Israel could ramp up the violence in Gaza in an effort to provoke Hamas as a way to restart its genocidal war with US support.
One of Haaretz’s sources said the images of Hamas fighters in Gaza during hostage releases have hurt Netanyahu’s support among the Israeli right-wing, which includes Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has threatened to quit the government if military operations don’t resume after the first phase.
“Right-wing voters see that we haven’t defeated Hamas, and its operatives are still roaming with weapons. The signs on stages in Gaza during the hostage return events mock Netanyahu and reference his ‘total victory’ slogan,” the source said. “Netanyahu knows he doesn’t have a government if he proceeds with the deal.”
Netanyahu had sabotaged previous rounds of negotiations before the current ceasefire deal was reached in January. Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who is also wanted by the ICC for his role in war crimes in Gaza, said in an interview last week that a proposal Hamas had agreed to in July 2024 was “identical” to the current one.
