Israel’s Ben-Gvir warns of ‘disaster’ amid imminent hostage deal with Hamas

By Abdul Raouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir warned Tuesday that an imminent hostage deal with Hamas would end in “disaster.”

“I am very upset because they’re now talking about some kind of deal,” Ben-Gvir said in statements cited by The Times of Israel newspaper.

“I am disturbed because we are once again being divided and once again we are not being told the truth. And once again, we are being pushed to the side. The rumors are that the State of Israel is once again going to make a very, very big mistake in the style of the Shalit deal.”

A prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas in 2011 saw captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit freed in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian detainees from Israeli jails.

“You remember that we released Gilad Shalit, we let out (Yahya) Sinwar and his friends and brought this trouble upon ourselves,” Ben-Gvir said, referring to the Hamas leader in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu early Tuesday reported progress on reaching an agreement for the release of Israelis held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported that the Gulf nation of Qatar may announce a cease-fire in Gaza, under which a prisoner swap deal will take place between Palestinians and Israelis.

KAN, citing an Israeli source familiar with details of the prospective deal between Israel and Hamas, said the agreement is about to be finalized and Qatar may announce the terms later Tuesday.

Hamas is believed to be holding at least 239 Israelis following a cross-border attack on Oct. 7.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip following the Hamas attack, killing more than 13,300 Palestinians, including 5,600 children and 3,550 women, according to health authorities in the enclave.

Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques, and churches, have also been damaged or destroyed in Israel’s air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.

*Writing by Ziad Aslan in Ankara