Israeli opposition chief Lapid demands Netanyahu send Israeli delegation to Cairo

JERUSALEM

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on Saturday demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu send a negotiating delegation to Cairo to finalize a deal with Palestinian factions in Gaza.

“Netanyahu should send the negotiating delegation to Cairo tonight," the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth quoted Lapid as saying.

“They must not return without concluding a deal and releasing the hostages. There is no other mission, nothing else to do,” added the opposition leader.

Lapid continued: “There is no such thing as victory without reaching an agreement and releasing the hostages.”

Earlier on Saturday, conflicting reports circulated on Israeli media about Netanyahu sending the country's negotiating team to Cairo.

Israel's opposition accuses Netanyahu of trying to sabotage the hostage swap deal with Palestinian group Hamas.

Netanyahu faces increasing pressure not to accept a deal that would lead to ending the war in Gaza and canceling the military operation in the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.

Tel Aviv believes 134 Israelis are being held in Gaza, while Israel is holding some 9,000 Palestinians in its jails.

Israel has killed more than 34,600 Palestinians since an Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attack by Hamas in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed and around 250 hostages taken.

A previous deal in November saw the release of 81 Israelis and 24 foreigners in exchange for 240 Palestinians, including 71 women and 169 children.

The US, Qatar and Egypt have tried to broker an agreement to release the remaining Israeli captives.

The conflict has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in January issued an interim ruling that ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala