Security cabinet

The seven were the only cabinet members who knew about the expected strike prior to the full cabinet meeting on Thursday evening.

Israel conveyed a message in the last 24 hours to Iran that it would strike strategic infrastructure across the country if the Islamic Republic targets civilian population centers.

The decision was made without holding a vote, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and other ministers being against the move.

Officially, security agency heads were not invited to attend given the meeting would be a briefing on PMs visits to Hungary and Washington.

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Israel also insists that, as part of such a deal, the mediators should be informed of the hostages' nutritional and health conditions.

The Israeli cabinet approved new roads in Ma'aleh Adumim to improve traffic and security, but Palestinians remain skeptical.

"Israel is certainly considering the possibility that these protests are a deception tactic by Hamas," an Israeli official said.

"This is a demand to the prime minister to stop sabotaging the agreement," the families said in an official statement.

Many Israeli officials, citing previous statements by Netanyahu, believe reaching the second phase of the deal would be more difficult to achieve.