The site Walla News reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich twice in recent days in an attempt to persuade him to support the proposed hostage release deal.

According to the report, the two discussed the issue for the first time on Saturday evening in Jerusalem and then again on Sunday during a larger meeting about the state budget for 2025.

Citing unnamed sources, Walla noted that the two discussed the reasons for Smotrich's opposition to the deal and whether there are specific conditions under which the far-right minister could support such a deal.

Both Smotrich and his far-right ally National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir threatened to resign from the government if Israel went ahead with a deal that would halt the fighting in Gaza and lead to the release of hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners.

Walla added that the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Finance did not respond to a request for comment.