Ministers in the Israeli War Cabinet agreed yesterday, Sunday, to show greater flexibility in negotiations aimed at reaching a deal with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Hebrew Channel 12 reported on Monday that the ministers in the war cabinet met yesterday to discuss the current status of communications related to negotiations to reach a deal with Hamas, and on their table was the issue of the return of residents of the northern Gaza Strip to their homes.

During the session, which was described as charged, the ministers decided to be open to “new and creative” ideas from the mediators on this central issue, which hinders progress towards concluding a deal in light of Israeli intransigence.

The Israeli state had previously expressed its willingness to agree to a gradual and limited return of residents in the northern Gaza Strip, while Hamas rejects any restrictions on their return.

The channel quoted an unnamed Israeli source familiar with the details of the negotiations, saying that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu granted additional space, meaning that he slightly increased the mandate granted to the Israeli negotiating teams, and this is only if the mediators reach a new proposal that indicates progress and a demonstration of flexibility by Hamas as well.

The channel quoted another source as saying, “The pressure achieved something,” in reference to the increasing pressure on Netanyahu, and that the almost unified position in the war cabinet is to provide a broader mandate to the negotiating team.

Last night witnessed large and noisy protest demonstrations in several areas, including occupied Jerusalem, which were joined by the families of Israeli detainees in the Gaza Strip, and demanded Netanyahu’s resignation from his position.

The momentum of the protests has increased in recent days, after reports indicated that there had been a change in the position of Likud Party ministers regarding the deal, while Defense Minister Yoav Galant and Netanyahu continued their intransigence in not showing flexibility in the face of Hamas.

Mossad chief David Barnea said during the war cabinet session, “The conditions are ripe for a deal, and the return of the residents of the northern Gaza Strip is the tiebreaker.”

For her part, Transportation Minister Miri Regev from the Likud Party said that she supports reaching a deal, explaining that “every effort must be made to return the kidnapped people, even if the price is the return of the residents of the northern Gaza Strip.”

In statements he made yesterday, Netanyahu considered that “calls to hold elections now at the height of the war, a moment before victory is achieved, will paralyze Israel for at least six months, and in my estimation for eight months. This will paralyze the negotiations being conducted for the release of our kidnappers and will lead to an end to "War before achieving its goals, and the first party that will welcome this will be Hamas. This indicates everything. I reaffirm that I am committed to retrieving all of our kidnapped people and I will not leave anyone behind."

He also said: “Whoever says that I am not doing everything to get our kidnapped people back is mistaken and wrong. Whoever knows the truth and still repeats this lie causes unjustified grief to the families of the kidnapped.”

He claimed that “while Israel showed flexibility in its positions in the negotiations, Hamas is hardening its positions and demanding, among other things, the cancellation of the corridor and the return of Gazans - including Hamas terrorists (as he described it), to the northern Gaza Strip, in an uncontrollable manner. These demands were made by Hamas has security implications that I will not detail here. Despite the difficulty involved, negotiations must be conducted with equanimity and intelligent determination.

This is the only way to get all of us back. The claim that if we agreed to make more concessions every two days, the deal would get closer, is the opposite of the truth. This method of negotiations does not bring the release of the kidnapped people closer, but rather further away from it. The test is not to show that we are working hard to reach a deal, but to achieve the release and return of our abductees to their homes.”