This comes amid ongoing domestic pressure, with Netanyahu's government facing protests from prisoners' families and the risk of the coalition disintegrating if the deal is completed.
Last night, Netanyahu held a meeting with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to discuss the deal. The Israeli Broadcasting Authority announced that another meeting is scheduled for Sunday to assess the progress of the indirect negotiations hosted by Doha between Hamas and Israel.
In an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu confirmed that Israel is seeking a 60-day ceasefire agreement that would allow the return of half of the detainees in Gaza. He expressed confidence that Tel Aviv would achieve all of its goals in the Strip, including the destruction of Hamas.
Domestically, Netanyahu is facing mounting pressure. Thousands of Israelis took to the streets on Saturday evening in mass demonstrations in response to a call from the Prisoners' Families Committee demanding a swift conclusion of a comprehensive prisoner exchange deal and an end to the war in Gaza.
The committee described the lack of progress in the negotiations as politically motivated, warning that history will record Netanyahu's decision to choose between rescuing the hostages or engaging in political maneuvering. It emphasized the existence of a majority within the government and the security cabinet that supports the passage of the exchange deal, and warned that losing the current momentum would constitute a major failure.
In a related development, the official Israeli Broadcasting Authority predicted that National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir would likely resign from the government if an agreement is signed with Hamas, noting that there is a crisis within the ruling coalition as a result of the ongoing negotiations in Qatar. The authority explained that Netanyahu will hold a private meeting with Finance Minister Smotrich to prevent the coalition from disintegrating.
For its part, the Israeli opposition has criticized Netanyahu's handling of the deal, arguing that he is pursuing partial deals that allow the war to continue to serve his political interests, particularly ensuring his continued hold on power, in deference to the extreme right-wing faction within his government.
Yair Golan, head of the opposition Democratic Party, tweeted that Netanyahu and the finance and national security ministers were preventing the signing of the agreement for political reasons, arguing that the lives of the hostages were less important to them than maintaining power. Golan called for the government to be brought down to save lives and the country, warning that this extremist minority was leading the country to the abyss.
Golan's remarks came in response to a New York Times investigation on Friday that revealed that Netanyahu "chose his coalition partners and sought to maintain his rule at the expense of deals to release the hostages."
These developments come as Doha hosts a new round of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israeli delegations, mediated by Qatar and Egypt and with US participation, with the aim of reaching a new ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.
Over the course of approximately 20 months, several rounds of indirect negotiations were held between Israel and Hamas regarding a ceasefire and prisoner exchange, mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States.
During this period, two ceasefire agreements were reached, the first in November 2023 and the second in January 2025, which included partial prisoner exchanges. Netanyahu evaded completing the latter agreement, resuming the genocide in Gaza on March 18.
Tel Aviv estimates that there are 50 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, 20 of whom are still alive. Meanwhile, more than 10,800 Palestinians are languishing in its prisons, suffering torture, starvation, and medical neglect, many of whom have died, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with American support, has been committing genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.
The genocide left approximately 196,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons, and a famine that claimed the lives of many, including children.
