Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday tempered expectations about the timeline of a potential hostage deal with Hamas, while the White House expressed hope for an agreement to take shape in the coming days.
It's too soon to say if they've abandoned them," Netanyahu said on CBS' "Face the Nation."
Progress on the new deal gave the White House renewed hope that a final agreement could emerge as soon as this week.
Netanyahu said that while he hopes the hostage deal can come to fruition, Israel is planning military operations in the event that the agreement falls through.
He said that the hostage deal, and the accompanying temporary ceasefire, would delay the Rafah attack.
Persons:
Benjamin Netanyahu, It's, they've, Netanyahu, Jake Sullivan
Organizations:
Ministry of Defence, Hamas, CBS, White, Union, Israel Defense Forces
Locations:
Tel Aviv, Israel, They're, Paris, Egypt, Qatar, U.S, Rafah