Israel delays Cabinet meeting on fate of hostages in Gaza, angers families

Families of Israeli hostages in Gaza expressed anger on Thursday over a decision by Israel's Security Cabinet to delay a planned meeting to discuss the fate of the captives.

“The families demanded at the start of the week, and throughout all the past months, an urgent meeting with the prime minister and cabinet,” the Hostage Families Forum said in a statement.

“Not a peep and not an answer,” the statement said, accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Cabinet of ignoring the families and endangering the hostages.

The Security Cabinet was scheduled to meet Thursday night to discuss the fate of Israelis held captive in Gaza, but the meeting was postponed to vote on the sacking of Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet domestic security agency.

Netanyahu's office said Thursday that it would hold a vote on Bar's sacking tonight after the Israeli premier decided to sack him, citing a “lack of trust.”

According to Israeli Channel 12, the meeting to discuss the fate of the hostages was postponed until Saturday.

The broadcaster said Netanyahu and senior security officials held talks on Wednesday to discuss Gaza ceasefire negotiations and the impact of renewed Israeli attacks on the hostages.

More than 700 Palestinians were killed and over 900 others injured in a surprise aerial campaign by Israel on Gaza since Tuesday, shattering the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.

Nearly 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 112,000 others injured in a brutal Israeli military campaign in Gaza since October 2023.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.