JERUSALEM 

Former Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz mocked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday for citing his coalition government's potential collapse as a reason for delaying a cease-fire, urging him to "be brave" and accept an agreement to end the offensive, which would help bring back Israeli captives from Gaza. 

“At first, you hesitated on maneuvering (in southern Gaza), then you hesitated on moving the effort to the north, and for months you hesitated to move forward with a hostage outline out of fear for the fate of the coalition,” Gantz, leader of the opposition National Camp party, addressed Netanyahu in a statement quoted by The Times of Israel.

“It is time for you to stop tending to the fate of the government, and only tend to the fate of the country,” Gantz advised him, underscoring his point: “For once, be brave.”

In response, Netanyahu's Likud party issued a statement claiming that “the protocols will prove that Gantz is the one who opposed decisions that were critical for the security of Israel, including decisions regarding dramatic military actions.”

The party claimed that the assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders since Gantz's departure are more than anything else a “testimony to the change of reality.”

“Unfortunately, Gantz chose to leave the government during the war,” the party said, referring to his resignation from the government in June of this year.

For the past two weeks, Israel has been bracing for potential retaliation from Iran and Hezbollah following the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran at the end of July and Hezbollah's top commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut the day before.

While Israel has claimed responsibility for Shukr's assassination, it has remained silent on accusations by Iran and Hamas regarding Haniyeh's death in an airstrike during his visit to Tehran, though Netanyahu has hinted at Israel's involvement.

A new round of Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap talks began Thursday in the Qatari capital Doha to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas said on Wednesday that it will participate in the upcoming Gaza cease-fire and hostage swap talks if Israel provides a clear commitment to implement US President Joe Biden's proposal.

Last May, Biden said Israel presented a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave. The plan includes a cease-fire, a hostage-prisoner exchange, and the reconstruction of Gaza.

For months, Egypt, Qatar and the US have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and cease-fire and allow humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip.

But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands to stop the war.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

The Israeli onslaught has since killed over 40,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 92,400 others, according to local health authorities.

Over 10 months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala