Netanyahu Faces Crucial Hostage Decision

As Israeli forces edge closer to encircling Gaza City, the IDF has contacted local medical providers and international aid organizations, instructing them to prepare for a large-scale evacuation of civilians southward. The army has emphasized that humanitarian coordination is essential ahead of the next phase of operations.

Meanwhile, War Cabinet member Gadi Eisenkot appealed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging him to approve a hostage release deal without delay.

“Tonight you have another, perhaps final opportunity to do the right thing: bring our brothers and sisters home,” Eisenkot said, stressing that a majority in the Knesset, in government, and across the Israeli public supports such a move. “The deal is known, it has overwhelming backing, and it could have been approved on any day of the past year and a half.”

Eisenkot accused Netanyahu of prioritizing personal political survival over the national interest, warning that continued hesitation undermines Israel’s resilience and its founding ethos.

“Israel was established so that Jews would not be abandoned to their fate. Today, its supreme duty is to save them,” he said.