On Thursday evening, families of Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip closed a main street near the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv to demand an immediate deal to release their relatives, according to Hebrew media.

The private Channel 12 said that the families of the prisoners closed a street leading to the Kirya area in central Tel Aviv, where the Ministry of Defense is located, as 153 days have passed since their families were captured in Gaza.

The demonstrators raised pictures of prisoners and banners with phrases such as: “It is time” and “Deal now.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing criticism from the Israeli street and a number of politicians, even those affiliated with the War Council, against the backdrop of the prisoner crisis in Gaza and the failure to find a path to guarantee their return alive, and some accuse him of obstructing the deal to release them due to his “political calculations.”

Earlier Thursday, Israeli War Council Minister Gadi Eisenkot said that without the return of the prisoners, there will be no victory in the war.

In his speech at the annual conference of the Israeli National Security Research Institute, Eisenkot said: “Without the return of the kidnapped (prisoners), there will be no victory, but rather long and continuing damage to the national steadfastness of the State of Israel,” according to what the Hebrew newspaper “Israel Hayom” reported.

This comes as the private Cairo News Channel, which is close to the Egyptian authorities, quoted a senior source on Thursday, saying, “Consultations are continuing between all parties to reach a truce (which comes within a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas) before the advent of the blessed month of Ramadan, which is expected on Monday.”

According to the same source, “The Hamas delegation left Cairo to consult on the truce, and negotiations will resume next week.”

Since Sunday, negotiations have been taking place in Cairo with the participation of Egypt, the United States, Qatar and Hamas for a ceasefire between the Gaza Strip and Israel, according to what the private Cairo News channel reported on Wednesday.

Tel Aviv estimates that there are more than 125 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, while it holds at least 8,800 Palestinians in its prisons, according to official sources from both parties.

A truce previously prevailed between Hamas and Israel for a week from November 24 until December 1, 2023, during which a ceasefire took place, a prisoner exchange took place, and very limited humanitarian aid was brought into Gaza, with Qatari-Egyptian-American mediation.