Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced Sunday night that Israel’s hostage negotiation team in Doha is exploring “every possibility” for a deal — including one that could end the war in Gaza altogether.

The dramatic statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) confirms that Israeli negotiators are now weighing two parallel tracks: a short-term ceasefire proposal reportedly advanced by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, or a sweeping agreement that would result in the full release of all remaining Israeli hostages and the total dismantling of Hamas’s rule in Gaza.

“Under the prime minister’s direction, even at this hour, the negotiating team in Doha is working to exhaust every possibility for a deal — whether according to the Witkoff outline or within the framework of ending the war, which would include the release of all hostages, the exile of Hamas terrorists, and the disarmament of the Gaza Strip,” said the PMO in a strikingly broad declaration.

While Israel has long insisted that the war would continue until Hamas is eliminated as a military and governing entity, Sunday’s statement marks the first time that Netanyahu’s government has publicly acknowledged the possibility of an agreement that could bring the conflict to a definitive close — provided its core conditions are met.

The PMO credited Netanyahu’s combined policy of military and diplomatic pressure for the release of 197 hostages to date, and said that 58 still remain in captivity. “The government is doing everything possible to bring them home,” the statement added.

But the announcement also took a sharp detour into controversy, lashing out at former hostage negotiator Brig. Gen. (res.) Oren Setter, who resigned last October and accused Netanyahu in a February interview of missing key opportunities to strike a deal. The PMO accused Setter of leaking classified information and “echoing Hamas’s false propaganda,” claiming his assertions were “completely baseless.”

“As senior American officials have repeatedly testified, Hamas refused for many months to enter negotiations and was the sole obstacle to a deal,” the PMO said, reasserting its narrative that Israel has been ready for a deal far longer than its adversaries.

Whether these negotiations in Doha culminate in a limited pause or a sweeping end to the war now hinges on Hamas’s willingness to accept terms that include surrender, exile, and disarmament — a tall order for a group that has thrived on defiance. Yet the mere mention of such terms by the Israeli government signals that, for the first time since October 7th, the road to an actual post-war Gaza might be coming into view.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)