In light of the recovery of the hostages' bodies, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is urging the Cabinet to overturn its decision not to leave the Philadelphi Route: "The Security Cabinet must convene immediately and reverse the decision made on Thursday." According to Gallant: "It is too late for the hostages who were murdered in cold blood. We must bring home the hostages still held by Hamas. The State of Israel will hold every leader and murderer of Hamas accountable, down to the last one."
As a reminder, last week the Security Cabinet decided by a majority of eight in favor, against one objection from Minister Yoav Gallant and one abstention (Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir), to approve the maps determining the IDF's continued presence on the Philadelphi Route as part of a possible hostage release deal, according to sources who attended the discussion.
During the discussion, Gallant emphasized, "The choice is between staying on the Philadelphi Route and returning the hostages. We can't have both; in the end, we will discover that either the hostages will die or we will have to retract this decision."