Link: https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel-at-war/artc-yoav-gallant-claims-that-a-hostage-deal-was-sabotaged-by-a-deliberate-leak

Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said a hostage deal was sabotaged by a deliberate leak from the Israeli side. He spoke at a counterterrorism conference at Reichman University. Gallant said someone with an interest in seeing the negotiations fail leaked confidential details.

The deal was meant to release 33 living hostages, with a minimum threshold of 18 to finalize an agreement. Gallant claims Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich mentioned this exchange for 18 hostages in a cabinet meeting after meeting with the Prime Minister. Gallant said revealing this threshold directly compromised the Israeli position. He said: "Figures are the central secret of negotiations. If the other side knows your minimum threshold, the consequences are obvious."

Gallant says Hamas, having been informed of the minimum acceptable to Israel, lost interest in releasing the 33 hostages initially requested. Gallant also said Benjamin Netanyahu opposed the proposal before authorizing it. The proposal was supported by Benny Gantz, Ron Dermer, Gadi Eisenkot, and Aryeh Deri.

This means Israeli politicians sabotaged a deal to bring hostages home to keep their government alive.