Netanyahu postpones decision over military action in Gaza to next week, source says
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has postponed making a decision on the actions his country's military will take in Gaza if Hamas does not agree to a ceasefire deal, a source familiar with the matter told CNN on Friday.
A decision will no longer come this week, the source said.
This comes amid internal disagreements in the Israeli government about its preferred course of action in the enclave.
One idea on the table, if the militant group does not agree to a deal, is to encircle Gaza City and other population centers, while another is to 'conquer' the city, the source said. Different ministers are in favor of different plans, the source added.
On Thursday, a senior Israeli official said that Israel and the United States are forming a new understanding on Gaza, as Hamas reportedly withdrew from ceasefire and hostage deal negotiations.
'At the same time, Israel and the United States will work to increase humanitarian aid, while continuing military operations in Gaza,' the official added.
The shift comes as Hamas has disengaged from ceasefire and hostage negotiations, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Hamas' disengagement follows the US and Israel pulling their delegations from talks in Doha, Qatar, with US special envoy Steve Witkoff at the time accusing Hamas of negotiating in bad faith. Despite that move, a senior Israeli official had told CNN they would be prepared to return to Doha if Hamas changed its position.
On Thursday, Hamas said it was committed to continuing negotiations toward a permanent ceasefire and complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, but conditions in the enclave would first have to improve 'significantly.'
The faltering peace talks come amid a catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, where scores of people are starving to death.
All of Gaza's 2.1 million people are now food insecure, without reliable access to enough affordable, nutritious and healthy food, the United Nations said this week. According to the enclave's health ministry, 900,000 children are going hungry, and 70,000 show signs of malnutrition.
'It is essential to improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation significantly and to obtain a written response from the enemy regarding our response,' Basem Naim, a senior member of Hamas' political bureau, told CNN. 'This is a condition to go back to negotiations.'
In a separate statement, Hamas said it was ready to 'engage immediately in negotiations again upon the arrival of aid to those in need and to end the humanitarian crisis and famine in Gaza.'
The statement added that continuing negotiations 'under the conditions of starvation loses its substance and effectiveness.'
CNN previously reported that Hamas was considering hardening its position in negotiations. Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said Wednesday there was no point in continuing to engage in negotiations as long as Gaza's starvation crisis continues.
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