The newspaper "Times of Israel" reported that an Israeli official said on Friday that progress towards a comprehensive agreement in Gaza depends on the continued efforts of the United States and Israel, noting that the current halt in negotiations complicates matters significantly. The official explained that if Washington and Tel Aviv abandon their efforts to reach a phased agreement with Hamas, achieving a comprehensive agreement would take a long time and would involve the release of all captives in exchange for ending the war.

He pointed out that negotiations have been stalled and face a deadlock since Israel and the United States withdrew their delegations from Doha, although Arab mediators have confirmed that the disagreements are still solvable, despite Hamas's response that has slowed the progress made so far. Currently, an agreement is being proposed that includes the release of 28 captives out of 50 during a two-month ceasefire, with the possibility of releasing the remaining captives if a permanent ceasefire agreement is reached during that period.

In a related context, the newspaper "Haaretz" quoted an Israeli source as saying that Tel Aviv has not yet made a decision regarding the occupation of Gaza or how military operations will proceed if negotiations with Hamas fail, expressing doubts about the possibility of resuming negotiations at this time. The source clarified that there is a prevailing sense of doubt regarding the possibility of reaching a ceasefire at the present time.

Earlier, the Israeli army issued a statement from Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, who confirmed that in a few days it will be known whether it is possible to reach an agreement regarding Gaza; otherwise, military operations will continue without interruption. Zamir said during a field tour: "I believe we will know in the coming days whether we will reach a partial agreement for the release of the hostages," adding that failing to reach that means the fighting will continue relentlessly.

Zamir also confirmed that Israeli forces have established a security zone in the sector, providing operational opportunities, including defending Israeli communities and maintaining a continuous offensive effort, while reducing the operational burden on the forces and avoiding falling into Hamas's traps. He considered that the current campaign of false claims about deliberate starvation is a deceptive attempt to accuse the Israeli army, which has confirmed that the only party responsible for the killing and suffering in Gaza is Hamas, and that the soldiers of the army act with integrity in accordance with international law.