Netanyahu: There's no hostage deal because Hamas doesn't want one

Government ministers were told that Hamas has returned to demanding an end to the war as a condition for the deal.

By AMICHAI STEIN, JERUSALEM POST STAFF DECEMBER 29, 2024 20:05 Updated: DECEMBER 29, 2024 21:03

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem, on December 23, 2024. (photo credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that no hostage deal had been created yet because Hamas "does not want there to be a deal" in a Sunday weekly government meeting. 

During the meeting, the ministers attending were given a very limited briefing on the hostage deal talks.

"The situation is less optimistic," ministers told The Jerusalem Post.

The message that was conveyed to government ministers was that "the negotiations for the hostage deal were stuck," with Hamas "constantly trying to change direction in the talks."

The ministers were also told that Hamas has returned to demanding an end to the war as a condition for the deal.

A man walks past posters of hostages kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, November 25, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

A meeting ahead of Netanyahu's surgery 

The government meeting took place on the day of Netanyahu's prostate removal surgery, which took place on Sunday evening.

Netanyahu released a video statement that showed him walking out of the government meeting.

 In the video, he stated that he was leaving the meeting to go to the hospital and that he wanted to thank all those who sent him wishes for a speedy recovery.

Additionally, in the clip, he was asked about the book he held in his hand and explained that it was the biography of the Duke of Marlborough, who was a military leader in Britain. 

He then wished everyone watching "Happy Hannukah."