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Israeli top brass supports idea of hostage deal with Hamas — newspaper

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to insist on the need to remove Hamas from power in the Gaza Strip

NEW YORK, July 7. /TASS/. Israeli Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir prefers moving toward a hostage deal with Hamas, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing a source.

According to the source, Zamir believes that "further operations will threaten the lives of hostages, while the benefit of further weakening Hamas is unclear," The Wall Street Journal writes.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to insist on the need to remove Hamas from power in the Gaza Strip and disarm the radicals, the newspaper notes.

In March, the Israeli army resumed military operations in Gaza, breaking the ceasefire deal that had been reached in January. The parties failed to agree on the conditions of a new agreement after several rounds of negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States. US President Donald Trump said on July 2 that Israel had agreed to a 60-day ceasefire. On July 4, Hamas handed a positive response to the plan over to the mediators. However, the July 6 round of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas ended without a deal.