Netanyahu Rejects Partial Gaza Hostage Deal as Israel Plans Strikes

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected renewed international efforts for a phased hostage deal, declaring that Israel will only accept a comprehensive agreement that frees all captives in Gaza at once.

The statement from the Prime Minister’s Office late Saturday came after reports that Hamas was reconsidering a U.S.-brokered proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of roughly half the remaining hostages. Netanyahu dismissed the idea outright, insisting Israel “will not agree to a partial deal.”

“Israel will agree to a deal on condition that all the hostages are released in one go,” the statement read, adding that any agreement must also include Hamas’s disarmament, the demilitarization of Gaza, and the establishment of a non-Hamas, non-Palestinian Authority administration under Israeli security control.

People protest calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, near the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem, August 16, 2025 (Photo: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Gaza Preparations Underway

Even as negotiations stall, Israel is preparing to escalate its military campaign. The IDF announced that beginning Sunday, it would transfer tents and shelter supplies into southern Gaza to facilitate the evacuation of civilians ahead of a planned offensive to capture Gaza City.

COGAT, Israel’s defense body overseeing activities in the territories, said the aid convoys would cross at Kerem Shalom with UN and international oversight. “This is part of our preparations to move the population from combat zones to southern Gaza for their protection,” the agency said.

A Nation Poised to Strike

Back home, frustration is mounting. Families of the remaining hostages, estimated at 50, with around 30 believed dead, have called for a nationwide strike which began this Sunday early morning.

Organized by the October Council, the strike is bringing large parts of the country to a halt. Hundreds of municipalities, universities, tech firms, and civic organizations have pledged participation. Demonstrations began Saturday night in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square and spread quickly to other cities, reaching all parts or the country today.

From the early hours, marches, sit-ins, and rallies started to happen nationwide, and should culminate in a convoy of protesters converging on Tel Aviv. At 8 p.m., as a mass rally with hostage families is scheduled in Hostage Square, the symbolic center of the movement since October 7.

Israelis block road 1 near Latrun, while attending a protest calling for the release of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, August 17, 2025. (Photo: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Deepening Divide

The standoff points to the widening rift between the government’s war aims and growing public pressure for a negotiated solution. Polls have consistently shown that most Israelis favor striking a deal, even if it means halting the Gaza offensive.

But Netanyahu and his coalition partners remain unmoved. With preparations for an assault on Gaza City advancing and a nationwide strike about to unfold, Israel faces a pivotal week in both the battlefield and the streets.