Mossad chief Barnea urges action on hostage deal, says female hostages 'don't have time’

Female ministers push for deal, say 'hostage situation is an open wound in society'

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Israel's young female hostages don’t have time to wait for further negotiations, Mossad Director David Barnea said in a Security Cabinet meeting on Tuesday night, urging the Cabinet to move forward with the current hostage deal.

“It could take long weeks. The girls in captivity don’t have time to wait for changes in the proposal under discussion,” Barnea noted, according to sources.

Also on Tuesday, parents of five female IDF soldiers held in Gaza published images of their daughters from earlier in captivity, where it is clear the girls have been wounded.

Barnea also criticized one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent demands during the negotiations, which reportedly involved ensuring that no armed Palestinians would return to the northern Gaza Strip.

“Finding a mechanism for preventing armed terrorists from returning to the north of the Strip will take long weeks,” Barnea reportedly said. His statements were allegedly backed by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Other ministers at the Security Cabinet meeting backed the push for an agreement sooner rather than later.

Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev reportedly said the situation of the hostages is “an open wound in society,” adding: “There is no perfect deal but this is an opportunity that should not be missed.”

According to Israel Hayom, Innovation Minister Gila Gamliel told Netanyahu: “This deal is the ‘Netanyahu Deal’ and is recorded in your name and you need to take it to the end and not pay attention to every threat to the coalition from Ben Gvir and Smotrich.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir reportedly stated, “I am against any reckless deal.”

After Gamliel pointed out that Ben Gvir opposed the previous hostage deal, he responded, “Even then, I was correct.” He claimed that more IDF soldiers died because of the November hostage release deal, a claim the IDF has not supported.

“Instead of eliminating Hamas, we stopped, and it cost us,” Ben Gvir claimed.

Gamliel raised concerns expressed by many, that the young female hostages may have been raped during their captivity.

“Women can give birth after nine months and this is a disaster from which there is no turning back.”

Despite recent friction between the prime minister and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, the group expressed support for the deal in a letter to Netanyahu on Wednesday.

“Shas backs your efforts to return the hostages. We are convinced that the conditions that have been created due to the military pressure and the targeted assassinations create an appropriate moment to reach a deal that safeguards the vital security interests of Israel and brings the hostages home,” the group wrote in the letter released to the media.

The party also told Netanyahu “not to fear the opposing voices in the coalition and [we] encourage you to continue to act responsibly for the unsurpassed commandment of redemption of captives.”

Netanyahu did not commit to moving forward with the current deal but said: “Military pressure against Hamas is what will in the end bring the hostages.”

The prime minister's comments were blasted by some hostage families who felt the Israeli leader was minimalizing the current suffering of the hostages. He has reportedly hardened Israel’s demands in negotiations after the seizing of the Philadelphi Corridor and recent operations aimed at preventing Hamas’ ability to re-establish itself in central and northern Gaza.