Netanyahu thwarted hostage deal - new scandal in the US
Former US vice-presidential national security adviser Phil Gordon said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thwarted a hostage release deal in the summer of 2024 by adding new conditions and ignoring the recommendations of the security services. According to him, this halted the negotiations for half a year, during which thousands of people and six hostages died.
Former US vice-presidential national security adviser Phil Gordon criticised the actions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the ceasefire negotiations in the summer of 2024. Gordon confirmed the testimony of former military secretary to the Israeli government's head, Avi Gil, that the Israeli leadership did not use the chance to secure the release of hostages alive. According to Gordon, in early July 2024 US President Joe Biden personally urged Netanyahu to agree to a deal after Hamas dropped its main demand for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. However, instead of approving the agreement, the Israeli prime minister added new conditions to it, ignoring the recommendations of the heads of Israel's security services. Among them were maintaining a military presence along the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt and introducing checks on Palestinian Arabs returning to the northern part of the enclave. In Gordon's view, the inclusion of these demands effectively halted the negotiations for another half a year. During that time the fighting continued, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people, as well as captives, including six hostages killed by militants in August 2024. Both disputed points were ultimately excluded from the agreement the sides concluded in January 2025. The Likud party rejected these statements, regarding the former officials' remarks as a politically motivated campaign against the head of government.