Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that there was some progress made over the negotiations to secure the release of the hostages held in Gaza.
He made these comments in the parliament two days after Palestinian resistance groups also acknowledged the progress towards a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
The recent indirect talks between Israel and Hamas mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the U.S. took place in Doha.
"Everything we are doing cannot be disclosed. We are taking action to bring them back. I wish to say cautiously that there has been some progress, and we will not stop acting until we bring them all home," Netanyahu said in parliament on the same day he took the stand again in his ongoing corruption trial.
"I want to say to the families of the hostages: We are thinking of you, and we will not give up on your loved ones, who are our loved ones as well."
Hostage families have questioned the sincerity of government negotiation efforts, and critics have long accused Netanyahu of stalling in truce talks, prolonging the war partly to appease his far-right coalition partners.
Meanwhile, confirming the development, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the leftist popular front for the liberation of Palestine said progress had been made.
“The possibility of reaching an agreement for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal is closer than ever, provided the enemy stops imposing new conditions,” the group said after the recent talks in Cairo.
Netanyahu also said that he wanted to sign new peace accords with Arab countries, similar to the “Abraham Accords” negotiated in 2020 under Donald Trump’s first US administration. Those agreements saw Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco establish formal ties with Israel.
He said, “Moderate developed countries view Israel as a regional power and a potential ally. Intend to seize this opportunity to the maximum,” he said.
With the assistance of my American friends, I wish to expand the Abraham Accords... and thus change even more dramatically the face of the Middle East.
Netanyahu also said that Israel would not allow "terrorist entities to settle close to our communities" near the border with Syria. “It is a fight for our existence, for the state of Israel. We must defend our borders," he said.
Experts also maintain that with Iran and its main proxies like Hezbollah weekend, the former Syrian president ousted, and Hamas battling for its survival, Netanyahu is seeking to consolidate and annex more territory in Gaza and Syria.
Follow us
