Israel – Times of Israel, May 29, 2025
Right-wing ministers, hawkish hostage families come out against proposed deal, saying Hamas is ‘on its knees’ and IDF must drive terror group to surrender and release all captives
The new proposal from US special envoy Steve Witkoff for a deal between Israel and the Hamas terror group would see the release of 10 living Israeli hostages held in Gaza and the return of the bodies of 18 deceased hostages, in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire, an Israeli official confirmed to The Times of Israel on Thursday.
The confirmation came as right-wing ministers, and some hawkish hostage families, came out in opposition to the proposed deal, arguing that Hamas is weakened and now is the time to force the terror group to surrender.
As part of the US proposal, the United Nations would resume providing humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, in place of the new Israeli-backed mechanism that started operating this week, the Israeli official said. The UN has declined to cooperate with the new mechanism, saying it is insufficient to address the needs of Gaza’s civilian population, and allows Israel to weaponize the food supply.
