Hamas hostage negotiations highlights cracks in Israeli leadership

WASHINGTON (TND) — Two-hundred and thirty-five days after Alexsander Trufanov was kidnapped on Oct. 7, his loved ones saw him alive on a video published Tuesday by the group Islamic Jihad.

The "proof of life" footage only adds pressure on the Israeli government to strike a deal to bring Trufanov and the remaining hostages home.

On Monday, Israel gave Qatar, Egypt and the United States an updated deal proposal that would lead to a temporary ceasefire. Hamas, however, insists any deal must bring an end to the war.

The question of how to move forward is causing deep disagreement at the highest levels of the Israeli government.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly believes ending the war without destroying Hamas would be akin to surrender.

“We'll do what we need to do to make sure that Hamas doesn't retake Gaza and do what they promise to do and that is to repeat the horrible Oct. 7 massacre, the beheading of women after they rape them, the burning of babies, the slaughter of the innocent, the taking of hostages,” said Netanyahu to Fox News last week.

Others in the war cabinet disagree.

The head of the Missing and Captive Soldier's division of the IDF reportedly expressed his frustration by telling fellow officers, “With this government lineup, there won’t be a deal.”

Frustration with Netanyahu's leadership persists in Israel. Over the past weekend, protestors in Tel Aviv called for elections.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces push deeper into Rafah. Dozens of Palestinians there died over the weekend when a strike ignited a major fire.

The IDF’s Rafah offensive is under intense international scrutiny. Even with the recent deaths, the White House says Israel has not yet crossed the Biden Administration’s “red line.”

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