Israel's War Cabinet has approved in principle allowing aid to enter northern Gaza, but in the coming hours the Cabinet is expected to change its decision, Channel 12 News reported.
According to the report, the change of opinion follows complains by the diplomatic echelon which said that allowing aid to enter Gaza would constitute a "prize for Hamas" during these days of hostage deal negotiations.
Therefore, the new decision will be that aid will be allowed to enter Gaza only as part of a prisoner swap deal, and not separate from one.
The report notes that the professionals working towards a deal harshly slammed the decision, saying, "Allowing aid into northern Gaza would mean giving a prize to Hamas, in these critical days of negotiations for a hostage deal. If we have waited until now - we can wait longer."
Hamas is currently demanding ten convicted terrorists for every hostage released, as well as one day of ceasefire for every hostage released. The terror group is not, at this stage, discussing the release of soldiers held hostage in Gaza.
The November 2023 prisoner swap saw three convicted terrorists released for each hostage, and one day of ceasefire for each group of 10 hostages.
In that prisoner swap, Hamas agreed to release all children under age 19, as well as all civilian women. This was a commitment that the terror group did not keep: Two children, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, remain in Gaza, along with 15 civilian women.