Government to discuss stance on stage two of hostage deal tomorrow

The government is set to meet tomorrow (Tuesday) to discuss its stance towards continuing to the second phase of the hostage deal, including a possible end to the war, according to Kann News.

Following the return of the hostage negotiation team from Doha and the Prime Minister's return from the United States, the government is set to meet to decide on whether or not to move forward with the second phase of the hostage deal.

This stage, which would require not only an IDF withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor but an official end to the war, is a key sticking point within Netanyahu's coalition.

Ministers Smotrich and Chikli both oppose ending the war or not restarting the war once the first phase of hostage releases are over. Chikli wrote explicitly on his vote for the first phase of the deal that he would resign from the government if the IDF left the Philadelphi corridor.

Smotrich, meanwhile, said that he was staying in the government explicitly to prevent an end to the war. If he left, the government would become a minority coalition dependent on the votes of the opposition parties, which would fully support moving forward with the hostage deal, including an end to the fighting.

If Netanyahu refused such a proposal, Israel would go to elections. Most polls show the anti-Netanyahu coalition either winning a majority or at least denying Netanyahu's coalition a majority, which would also likely end the war.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has been working hard to coordinate the stance of his government with that of President Donald Trump, and this may include finding creative ways to secure the release of more hostages without declaring an official end to the war, as well as finding ways to implement the President's plan to relocate the Gazan population from the war-torn Gaza Strip.