Relatives of Israeli hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip have sharply and angrily criticized Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Monday for opposing a deal being negotiated in Qatar to stop the fighting and return their relatives.

Smotrich described the emerging agreement to stop the fighting and return the hostages as a "catastrophe" for Israel's security, and said that Israel must continue the military campaign in the Gaza Strip until Hamas completely surrenders.

Dozens of family members of the hostages, many carrying photos of their loved ones, rushed into a meeting room in the Israeli parliament, where the finance committee was meeting to discuss the 2025 budget.

A confrontation with the minister took place, charged with emotions and overwhelming anger, during which some cried and others pleaded, and lasted for more than an hour, during which they accused him of abandoning 98 Israelis and foreigners who are believed to still be held hostage in the Gaza Strip.

“These kidnapped people can return,” said Ofer Angrist, whose brother Matan was held by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attack. “The conditions are right, it’s time to reach an agreement, the prime minister said so. How can you, as finance minister, oppose the return of all these kidnapped people?”

Smotrich, the leader of one of the far-right religious nationalist parties in the ruling right-wing coalition, is among the strongest opponents of the ceasefire agreement, describing it as a "surrender" to Hamas.

An official familiar with the negotiations told Reuters on Monday that Qatar had delivered a "final" draft to Israel and Hamas to stop the war in the Gaza Strip following a "breakthrough" achieved after midnight in talks in Doha.

Yehiel Yehud, whose daughter was held captive and whose son was killed, reminded Smotrich that he had visited them at their home in the Israeli town where the attack took place and told him: “You need to do more than that.”