Gallant Suggests Leak of Hostage Deal Aimed at Sabotaging Negotiations

Former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated on Monday that details of a hostage deal were leaked by an entity seeking to derail the negotiations. He explained that revealing the minimum number of hostages Israel was willing to accept allowed Hamas to understand Israel's red line, leading to the collapse of the talks. Gallant made these remarks during a discussion with retired Colonel Lior Lotan at the International Counter-Terrorism Conference at Reichman University.

Gallant recounted that following the November 2023 hostage deal, Israel attempted to advance another agreement. He noted efforts to leverage exits from Shifa Hospital and later Khan Younis to create leverage for a new deal, but these attempts failed. Subsequently, an offer was made to withdraw from the Nitzanim corridor. Gallant asserted that the Chief of Staff Nitzan Alon, the heads of Shin Bet and Mossad, and other senior officials supported this move, as did ministers Benny Gantz, Ron Dermer, Gadi Eisenkot, and Gallant himself.

"The Prime Minister did not want this, but ultimately, mainly out of public fear of what would happen if it became known he did not agree to it, he allowed this to happen," Gallant claimed. He then revealed the numbers set by the mandate for the negotiation team: a document passed between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Benny Gantz, and Gallant established a target of releasing 33 living hostages, with a minimum of 18 required to execute the deal. "Meaning, if there are 18, we make a deal; if there are 17, we don't make a deal," he explained.

According to Gallant, after this discussion, Bezalel Smotrich entered the Prime Minister's office and later stated in the cabinet that Israel was about to release prisoners for 18 hostages. Gallant did not explicitly name the leaker but detailed the sequence of events, stating, "It is clear to you that the numbers are the core of the secret in negotiations. If the other side knows your bottom line, it's clear what happens."

Gallant further claimed that Netanyahu later called him and requested the decision be reversed due to media criticism. He stated that Hamas's response arrived within two days. "Two days later, we saw Sinwar's response, and the basis is that they demand 33 hostages from us. Why give 33 hostages when they themselves say they are prepared for 18? And the deal was broken," he said. Gallant concluded with a strong accusation: "This deal was leaked by someone who had an interest in the negotiations breaking. Connect all the dots, and you will reach the conclusion."