During the meeting, Gallant advocated for moving forward with the deal as soon as possible, according to the Israeli officials.
The Defense Minister argued that the deal is not just about the release of hostages but represents a "strategic juncture" for Israel. Gallant suggested that if the Israeli government chooses to pursue the deal, it could reduce regional tensions with Iran and Hezbollah and allow the IDF to regroup, rearm, rethink its strategy, and shift its focus from Gaza to other regional threats.
According to Axios, during the discussion, Netanyahu briefed the cabinet ministers on the status of the negotiations. One key issue he addressed was his insistence that the IDF remain fully deployed along the Philadelphi corridor on the Egypt-Gaza border during the implementation of the hostage and ceasefire deal — a demand opposed by Hamas and Egypt.
Netanyahu presented maps of the IDF deployment along the Egypt-Gaza border, which he said were drawn by the IDF and endorsed by the Biden administration, according to officials quoted in the report. Gallant then interrupted, accusing Netanyahu of imposing the maps on the IDF, despite the military's stance that it can manage the risks of withdrawing forces from the area to secure a hostage deal.
Netanyahu, visibly angered, banged his hand on the table, accused Gallant of lying, and announced that he would bring the maps to a cabinet vote immediately, according to the Prime Minister's aides.
Gallant responded with a sharp retort. "As the Prime Minister, you are authorized to bring to a vote any decision you want — including executing the hostages," the defense minister told Netanyahu, according to one of Gallant's aides. He further warned that passing the resolution would give Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar more leverage in the negotiations.
"We have to choose between Philadelphi and the hostages. We can't have both. If we vote, we might find out that either the hostages will die or we will have to backtrack to release them," Gallant said, according to one of his aides.
In the vote that followed, Gallant found himself isolated. Netanyahu and seven other ministers voted in favor of maintaining full military control over the Philadelphi corridor, while Gallant was the only one to oppose the resolution, officials said.
