JERUSALEM, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli war cabinet on Wednesday night instructed the Israeli negotiation team to renew talks for the release of the Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli state-owned Kan TV news reported.
The approval for the resumption of talks was given following a four-hour night discussion, during which the cabinet formulated updated guidelines for the team.
Kan quoted a source involved in the discussion as saying, "This is not all that the negotiating team asked for, but at least we can move forward."
Cabinet ministers supported a new deal proposal formulated by Nitzan Alon, who is responsible for the hostages' issue on behalf of the Israeli army, according to Kan.
The discussion followed the release on Wednesday evening of graphic footage showing the kidnapping by Hamas militants of five female Israeli observation soldiers from Israel's Nahal Oz military base near the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023.
The video was published at the initiative of the hostages' families to increase the pressure on the Israeli decision-makers to move forward with the deal with Hamas.
After the video was released, protests erupted in Tel Aviv and outside the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, where the cabinet was meeting.■
