Israel Faces Growing Pressure Over Hostages and Gaza Offensive

Israel’s security cabinet was preparing to meet on Tuesday to discuss the country’s new military offensive in Gaza, officials said, leaving the fate of a cease-fire proposal in doubt as nationwide protests flared over the intensifying war.

Four officials confirmed the meeting of the security cabinet, which includes senior ministers and is chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Two of the officials said it would focus on the military advance on Gaza City, which Mr. Netanyahu’s office has said is necessary to achieve a decisive victory over Hamas.

It was not clear whether the security cabinet would discuss a cease-fire proposal that Hamas approved last week. The meeting will be the first time the ministers have a chance to formally consider the cease-fire since Hamas backed it, but the security cabinet was not expected to endorse the proposal on Tuesday.

The four Israeli officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The cease-fire proposal, which was negotiated by Qatar and Egypt, has been described as a “partial deal” that would immediately release some of the hostages, who have been held for nearly two years; allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza; and provide a path to discussions to end the war.

Israeli officials are instead pushing ahead with the military offensive in Gaza City and have signaled that they want to negotiate a comprehensive deal that would bring home all hostages at once and disarm Hamas.

Majed al-Ansari, spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, said, “We’re still waiting for there to be an official Israeli response” on the cease-fire proposal.

“The Israeli side should truthfully bring forth its reservations to this text in front of it today,” Mr. al-Ansari told journalists in Doha, the Qatari capital.

Protests across Israel began shortly after dawn on Tuesday, aimed at pressuring Mr. Netanyahu to accept the cease-fire deal.

“Advancing the plan to conquer Gaza while there is an agreement lying on the table for the prime minister’s signature is a stab in the heart of the families and the entire nation,” said Itzik Horn, father of Iair Horn, who was released in February, and of Eitan Horn, who is still held hostage. The brothers were captured in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that started the war.

“Join us today in our collective struggle because only the people will bring them home,” Mr. Horn said in a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the relatives of some of the captives.

The Israeli security cabinet will meet after another deadly day in Gaza, during which military strikes on a hospital killed at least 20 people, including five journalists. Mr. Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that the attack was a “tragic mishap,” and the Israeli military said it was investigating.

International humanitarian law forbids attacks on hospitals, but Israel has accused Hamas of using hospitals and other protected spaces as “shields.” Hamas has denied the claims.

“We cannot say it loudly enough: STOP attacks on health care. Ceasefire now!” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, said on social media. President Trump told journalists on Monday that he was “not happy” about the hospital strike, adding, “We have to end that whole nightmare.”

Mr. Trump added that he believed there were fewer than 20 hostages still alive in Gaza. The Israeli authorities have said that the bodies of 30 other hostages are also being held in Gaza. Many Israelis fear that Hamas will kill the remaining hostages if the military operation goes forward.

About 1,200 people were killed and around 250 others kidnapped during the Hamas-led assault on Israel in 2023. After nearly two years of Israel’s retaliatory war against Hamas, the Gaza Strip has been largely leveled, and a famine has been declared in parts of the territory.

More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, according to the Gazan health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Isabel Kershner, Aaron Boxerman and Adam Rasgon contributed reporting from Jerusalem.