Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called for an emergency meeting of the security cabinet on Sunday after the bodies of six hostages were found in the Gaza Strip.
The cabinet should reverse its decision to retain control over the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, Gallant wrote on X. The decision is seen as a barrier to reaching a possible agreement with the militant Palestinian Hamas organization for the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
“It is too late for the hostages who were murdered in cold blood. We must return the hostages still held by Hamas,” Gallant wrote.
He added that Israel would settle the score with all “Hamas leaders and murderers.”
The security cabinet voted earlier this week to allow Israeli troops to be stationed in the Philadelphia Corridor, a 14-kilometer corridor that has been a major stumbling block in ongoing indirect negotiations with Hamas over a possible ceasefire.
Israel claims that there are several Hamas tunnels under the corridor that allow arms smuggling between Egypt and Gaza. Egypt denies this claim.
According to media reports, a heated exchange took place between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Gallant during the cabinet meeting. Gallant accused Netanyahu of prioritizing military control of the Gaza-Egypt border over efforts to free Israeli hostages.
He is reported to have said that Netanyahu’s decision could just as well mean sentencing all hostages to death.