Gantz Considers Returning to His Government.. Netanyahu Decides to Proceed with the Occupation of Gaza City and Negotiate with Hamas Under Fire

Translation by SadaNews - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed his forces this Wednesday evening to expedite the process of occupying Gaza City and shorten its timeline.

Netanyahu claimed in a brief press statement, as translated by SadaNews, that the objective of the operation is "to control the last strongholds of terrorism and decisively address Hamas."

Channel 13 reported, citing a political source, that Israel has no intention of sending a delegation to continue negotiations regarding a deal at this stage.

Meanwhile, Channel 12 reported that the Minister of Strategic Affairs, head of the negotiation team Ron Dermer, met with Qatari officials in Paris and discussed the prisoner exchange deal following Hamas's recent response.

The channel pointed out that Israel intends to negotiate under fire, and therefore it will begin its military operation in Gaza, then respond to the mediators regarding Hamas's reply to the latest proposal.

It was noted that Netanyahu will meet tomorrow with army leaders at the Southern Command headquarters to approve the occupation of Gaza City.

In another report, Channel 13 stated, as translated by SadaNews, that the leader of the Blue and White party Benny Gantz is considering returning to the Israeli government to pass a prisoner exchange deal in light of the refusal of ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir.

The Israeli opposition is primarily focused on securing a "safety net" for the coalition to complete the prisoner exchange deal, and now joining the government is also being considered. The channel mentioned.

It remains unclear what Netanyahu's stance would be on this move if it were to happen.

Gantz's office declined to comment.

In a related context, the Israeli army reported that since March 18 of this year, its forces have operational control over approximately 75% of the Gaza Strip, eliminating senior military leaders and over 2,100 "terrorists," and attacked 10,000 targets.