Ex-Defense Minister Gallant Blames Deliberate Leak for Sabotaging Hostage Deal

Former Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant stated that a deliberate leak caused the failure of negotiations for the release of hostages held in Gaza. Speaking at Reichman University's International Counter-Terrorism Conference, Gallant asserted that "this agreement was leaked by someone who had an interest in seeing the negotiations fail," without explicitly naming the individual he accused.

Gallant explained that after the initial agreement in November 2023, the security apparatus sought to achieve another hostage release. Several options were considered to advance discussions, including withdrawals from Al-Shifa Hospital and Khan Younis, and a proposal for withdrawal from the Netzarim corridor. According to Gallant, this last proposal had the support of key military and intelligence officials, as well as several cabinet members, including Benny Gantz, Ron Dermer, Gadi Eisenkot, and Aryeh Deri. He claimed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu initially opposed it before authorizing further steps.

The former minister also detailed the confidential mandate given to negotiators. A document shared by Netanyahu, Gantz, and himself set a goal of releasing 33 living hostages, with a minimum threshold of 18 required to finalize a deal. Gallant stated that after a meeting between Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and the Prime Minister, Smotrich mentioned the prisoner exchange for 18 hostages to the cabinet. Gallant believes the disclosure of this minimum threshold directly compromised Israel's negotiating position, emphasizing that "the numbers are the central secret of the negotiations. If the other side knows your minimum threshold, the consequences are obvious."

According to Gallant's account, Netanyahu later called him to announce he wanted to reverse the decision following media criticism. Gallant maintains that Hamas, aware of Israel's accepted minimum, lost interest in releasing the 33 hostages initially demanded. The former minister concluded that the terms considered were very close to those of an agreement reached in January 2025, differing mainly in the release of an additional 110 prisoners serving life sentences.