Family members of some Israeli hostages in Gaza voiced frustration over what they said was the government's decision to deprioritize the return of the abductees over other objectives.
As negotiations between the Palestinian resistance group Hamas and the Israeli government continued in Qatar, some of the family members of the hostages decided to walk out of a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"We will not stop fighting until we bring our hostages home," Netanyahu declared after the meeting. But there was frustration among some of the families.
"We wanted to hear about a deal and that the return of the abductees is a priority among the war objectives," said Udi Goren, whose cousin Tal Haimi is one of those being held.
"We were waiting for answers but they didn't give any," he told Israeli public television.
Under the potential deal, which the sources said could yet change, between 50 and 100 Israeli civilian and foreign hostages would be released, but no military personnel.
In exchange, some 300 Palestinians would be freed from Israeli jails, among them women and minors.
