The Israeli war cabinet met late Sunday local time to discuss efforts to free the remaining hostages held in Gaza, according to an Israeli official.
The war cabinet is made up of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz, who is chairman of the National Unity Party.
In a video statement, released by the Government Press Office to mark Passover on Sunday, Netanyahu said, “This night, 133 of our dear brothers and sisters do not sit at the Seder table and are still imprisoned in the hell of Hamas.”
Netanyahu accused Hamas of rejecting proposals for a hostage deal “outright,” and said Israel will soon land “additional and painful blows” and will increase “military and political pressure” on Hamas to free the hostages.
State of the negotiations: Talks on a ceasefire and hostage deal have been facilitated by international mediators for weeks, but have yielded no apparent breakthroughs of late.
The framework laid out by negotiators, according to sources familiar with the talks, would see a six-week pause in fighting, during which Hamas would release 40 of the remaining hostages, including all the women, as well as sick and elderly men. In exchange, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners would be released from Israeli prisons.
Hamas has told the mediators — which include Qatar and Egypt — it does not have 40 living hostages who match the criteria for release. CNN’s record of the conditions of the hostages also suggests there are fewer than 40 living hostages who meet the proposed criteria.
This post has been updated to reflect the meeting took place.
