Israeli Media: Netanyahu and Trump Manipulated Families of Prisoners, and Hamas Wants to End the War

SadaNews - Israeli media covered the sudden collapse of negotiations for a prisoner exchange with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), where analysts stated that the atmosphere of optimism that prevailed over the past days was merely a tactic to reduce protests and quell anger.

The political correspondent for Channel 14, Tamir Morag, confirmed that Hamas's insistence on ending the war was what led the American envoy to the region, Steve Wittkoff, to announce that they were unwilling to reach an agreement, a sentiment echoed by Donald Trump himself.

Furthermore, Arab affairs analyst Ksenia Spotlova stated that the maps presented by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - who is wanted by the International Criminal Court - to disrupt negotiations and later retracted were not the reason for the failure of the talks, but rather Hamas's insistence on ending the war.

Meanwhile, the political correspondent for Channel 13, Moria Wolberg, stated that "there is currently no way to recover the twenty living prisoners except through a deal, despite Israel's attempts to promote a conflicting narrative."

Netanyahu had said after withdrawing the negotiating team from Doha that he would explore other alternatives to recover the prisoners.

However, media and strategic advisor Haim Rubinstein remarked that he does not know what alternatives Netanyahu is talking about and fears that abandoning the lives of these prisoners forever is the alternative they are considering.

For her part, former prisoner Liri Elbag sent a message pleading with officials to do everything they can to bring the prisoners back alive, stating that the lives of those who returned from Gaza will never return to normal unless those currently there are also returned.

Manipulation of Prisoners' Families

Dani Miran, a father of a prisoner in Gaza, commented on the collapse of the negotiations by saying, "The expectations they showed us while the negotiating delegation was in Qatar gave us enormous hopes like never before, and now my world has collapsed again."

In this context, the former director of Israel Radio, Chico Monche, stated that what happened was "manipulation of prisoners' families through press releases, leaks, and the warm atmosphere that Netanyahu broadcast with Trump's support," adding, "I do not know what they are thinking, but it seems that the previous statements were to absorb anger and reduce protests since reality tells a different story."

Finally, Knesset member from the Labor Party, Efrat Reiten, said, "This damned war has long turned into a war of party interests, costing us the lives of prisoners, soldiers, and Gazans as well," emphasizing that "those who do not question what is happening across the borders and the wall (in Gaza) are committing a crime against themselves."