Former Israeli war minister Benny Gantz called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to show courage for once and accept an agreement to stop the war on the Gaza Strip, which would contribute to the return of his country's prisoners from the Strip.

This comes hours after the start of a new round of talks in the Qatari capital, Doha, in the hope of removing obstacles and reaching this agreement.

Addressing Netanyahu in a statement, Gantz, leader of the opposition Blue and White party, said: “At first I was afraid of the maneuver (starting the ground operation in Gaza), then I was afraid of moving the military effort north (the confrontation with Hezbollah in Lebanon), and for months I was afraid of pursuing the hostage plan (concluding a prisoner exchange and ceasefire agreement); because of fear for the fate of the (government) coalition.”

He added that it was time for Netanyahu to stop "worrying about the fate of the government, and to only care about the fate of the homeland."

Gantz continued his speech to Netanyahu: "For once, be brave," urging him to "accept an agreement that returns the Israeli hostages and stops the war."

The opposition and the families of prisoners in Israel accuse Netanyahu of putting obstacles in the way of concluding an agreement with Hamas, fearing the disintegration of his ruling coalition and the loss of his position. Far-right ministers are threatening to withdraw from the government and bring it down if it accepts an agreement that includes a cessation of war.

For its part, Netanyahu's Likud party responded to Gantz's statement, saying: "The protocols (the minutes of government meetings) will prove that it was Gantz who opposed the decisions critical to Israel's security, including decisions related to dramatic military operations."

The party claimed that "the assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders since Gantz's departure attest more than anything else to the change in the current military reality."

He considered that "it is unfortunate that Gantz chose to leave the government in the middle of the war," referring to the latter's resignation from the government last June.

Recently, prominent leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah have been subjected to assassinations, some of which were claimed by Israel, while others were kept silent. The most prominent of these was the assassination of the head of Hamas’s political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran at the end of last July, and the prominent military leader of the party, Fouad Shukr, in Beirut the day before.

Earlier today, talks described as "decisive" began in Doha to reach an agreement for a prisoner exchange and a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, according to Hebrew and American sources.

These talks are being held away from the media in response to a joint statement issued by the leaders of the United States, Egypt and Qatar last week.

The White House expressed its belief that the Doha talks will continue until Friday, saying in press statements on Thursday that the negotiators are "focusing on the details of implementing the agreement," according to the Anadolu Agency correspondent.

The negotiations are attended by the Director of the American Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the Head of Egyptian Intelligence, Major General Abbas Kamel, and the Head of the Israeli Intelligence Service, Mossad, David Barnea.

While Israel agreed to participate in the talks, Hamas leader Suhail al-Hindi confirmed to Anadolu Agency on Tuesday evening that their movement would not be part of these negotiations.

Hamas and other Palestinian factions demanded, in a later statement, that Tel Aviv be bound by what was previously agreed upon during previous talks last July, based on US President Joe Biden's proposal.

Contacts with Hamas are usually conducted through Egyptian and Qatari mediators who convey messages between the movement and Israel in indirect negotiations.

At the end of last May, Biden presented the terms of a deal offered to him by Israel "to stop the fighting and release all the kidnapped (Israeli prisoners in Gaza)," and Hamas accepted it at the time, according to Hebrew media.

But Netanyahu added new conditions that both Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant and Mossad chief David Barnea considered would hinder reaching a deal.

These conditions included preventing the return of what he called "Palestinian militants" from the south of the Gaza Strip to its north by inspecting returnees at the Netzarim axis, which the Israeli army established near Gaza City and separates the north of the Strip from its south, and the Israeli army remaining at the Philadelphi axis on the border between Gaza and Egypt, which it announced its control over on May 29.

Netanyahu later added other conditions, including the deportation of Palestinian prisoners with long sentences to other countries.

While Hebrew press reports recently spoke about Netanyahu's proposal during the new round of talks to put forward other conditions that include the deportation of all first, second and third-tier leaders in Hamas to other countries, which is expected to further complicate the negotiations and hinder the possibility of their success.