The government convened to approve the Gaza deal agreement, which would release the hostages and eventually end the war, with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner participating on Thursday evening.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened the meeting with what appeared to be an explanation for agreeing to the deal, conveying reassurance to his coalition partners who had opposed it. "I want to save the precious souls and destroy Hamas," he said. "We need to navigate; there is reality here and challenges."
He went on to claim that even when it seems that "having an army and security forces is enough, it isn't," and that the only solution is "to fortify power, and that is achieved through alliances. What's difficult in politics is to secure the future at the expense of the present, and prices must be paid."
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar thanked Netanyahu for his work and said that he is "happy [he] joined the government during this critical time."
Some also chose to use this government meeting to jab at Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, including Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, who asked why she was in attendance.
Isolating Hamas and exchanging hostages
Another heated exchange occurred between Witkoff and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who slammed the US envoy for his efforts in advancing the notion of exchanging hostages for imprisoned terrorists in the Gaza deal.
"I'm standing next to the list of terrorists being released, baby killers, rapists," he said. "I appreciate you for the hard work you're doing and for helping Israel, but let's be honest: you wouldn't support a deal like this in the US."
"Those who murdered us on October 7 aren't asking for forgiveness," Ben-Gvir continued. "Their families are proud of it. They want to murder Jews. Would you make peace with Hitler? Hamas is Hitler."
Israeli Social Equality and Advancement of Women Minister May Golan also addressed Kushner at the meeting, telling him that though Israel wants peace, there is no one on the "other side" who wants it as well.
"We made a deal here that isolates Hamas. Actors in the Arab world want peace. The agreement preserves Israel's security," Kushner responded. "If we need to act with force, then we'll act with force. Either this will go the good way, or it will go the hard way."