Israeli Official: Netanyahu Surprised by Trump’s Statement and Considers Hamas’s Response a Rejection of the War Termination Plan

Translation SadaNews - Axios and Walla reporter Barak Ravid quoted a senior Israeli official stating that Netanyahu was surprised by President Trump's response. Netanyahu emphasized during consultations he held last night after Hamas's response and before Trump's announcement that he sees Hamas's reaction as a rejection of Trump's plan, according to the senior Israeli official. The senior Israeli official indicated that Netanyahu stressed during the consultations the necessity of coordinating their response with the Americans to ensure that Hamas's response does not confirm compliance with the American plan. The senior Israeli official noted that the professional level dealing with the captives viewed Hamas's response as a positive one that opens the way for reaching an agreement. In the same context, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid stated that President Trump is right that there is an unprecedented opportunity here to release the hostages and end the war. Israel must announce its joining the talks led by President Trump to finalize the details of the deal. I informed the U.S. administration that Netanyahu has political support to continue this process - Translation SadaNews