Netanyahu says Hamas must ease demands, Israelis not returning to Cairo for talks

Hamas has to ease its demands, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Office said amid reports that he had not approved of sending an Israeli delegation back to Cairo to follow up talks toward a deal for the release of the remaining 134 hostages.

“A change in Hamas's positions will allow the negotiations to advance,” the Prime Minister’s Office said on Wednesday.

It spoke up one day after an Israeli delegation that included Mossad Director David Barnea, Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, and Netanyahu’s advisor Netanyahu’s foreign policy adviser, Ophir Falk, returned from talks in Cairo with CIA Director William Burns.

“Israel did not receive any new proposal in Cairo from Hamas on the release of our hostages,” the PMO said.Netanyahu has insisted "that Israel will not give in to Hamas's delusional demands.,” the PMO explained.

Hostage and Missing Families Forum spokesperson Haim Rubenstein said, “The families of the hostages were stunned by the decision to thwart the Cairo negotiations."

“It appears that some members of the cabinet decided to sacrifice the lives of the abductees without admitting it,” Rubinstein said.

The details of the current Hamas proposal are unclear to the public

The details of a potential deal have not formally been made public but they are widely believed to be a three-phased deal, that includes a prolonged pause to the war, just as the IDF is preparing for a military operation in Rafah, which is believed to be Hamas’ last stronghold in Gaza.

US President Joe Biden has publicly stated that the pause could last for six weeks. Kan News reported that IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi told the cabinet that he opposed a pause in the fighting, warning that it could extend the fighting by years, in a situation where the war could otherwise be over in months.