[Source: Reuters]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing anger in Israel and abroad over his handling of talks on a Gaza ceasefire that have faltered, just as fears have grown that the crisis could spiral into war with Iran, three Israeli officials said.

Divisions between Netanyahu and the defence establishment over a deal, which could help defuse the escalating crisis that risks engulfing the Middle East, have also surfaced in public remarks and behind closed doors, in angry exchanges leaked on Saturday to the Israeli press.

Over the past four weeks three Israeli officials, one on the negotiating team and two with close knowledge of the talks, have voiced concern that politics was undermining the chances of a deal.

Some of Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners have threatened government stability should the war end before Hamas is defeated.

Netanyahu has repeatedly said the release of the remaining 115 hostages held in Gaza since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 assault on Israel that triggered the war was a top priority.

But the issue has become more urgent as the war in Gaza threatens to spill out into a wider regional conflict following a dramatic ratcheting up of tensions between Israel and Iran over the past week.

The Oct. 7 attackers killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 captive, according to Israeli tallies. Gaza’s Hamas-run health authorities say more than 39,000 Palestinians have since been killed in fighting in the densely populated coastal enclave.

Efforts by the United States, Egypt and Qatar to secure a deal between Israel and Hamas had gained momentum over July but have since ground to a near halt after new terms were introduced to an agreed framework presented by Washington in May.

The framework involves three phases, with the first seeing a six-week ceasefire and the release of women, elderly and wounded hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

But sources have told Reuters a new Israeli condition that displaced Palestinians should be screened as they return to the enclave’s north when the ceasefire begins was among the sticking points.

The killing on Wednesday of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran has further complicated matters, though the militant group has not shut the door entirely on negotiators.