Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said "we are closer to a deal than we ever have been," according to Yaron Avraham on 103FM on Thursday. 

This is a statement he has not heard from an Israeli official up to this point, Avraham stated.

Avraham argued that this indicates the mindset of some officials who believe a deal is possible with Hamas and, at the very least, bring about the first phase of the outline.

MK Gadi Eisenkot made a similar statement earlier on Thursday. 

MK Gadi Eisenkot attends a Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee meeting on the ultra-Orthodox draft law at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem on June 24, 2024. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)
MK Gadi Eisenkot attends a Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee meeting on the ultra-Orthodox draft law at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem on June 24, 2024. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)
"We are in the closest place to a deal in the last nine months. The prices will be very high, but Israel can afford to stop the war for four months and as long as necessary. This is not the end of the war," Eisenkot said.

Eisenkot remains skeptical

Eisenkot, however, still remained sceptical over whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would make the decision to end the war with a deal. 

Earlier, Netanyahu sent a team led by Mossad Director David Barnea to participate in further negotiations for a deal after Hamas dropped its demand for an upfront pledge that Israel ends the war.