Israeli officials have left for Qatar to discuss the various terms of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement. A source confirmed that they left on Monday. Washington has said there is a possibility of a cease-fire compromise. British news agency Reuters reported this news.
Israel is under pressure from key ally the US to agree to an early ceasefire in Gaza. At the same time, the country is under pressure to stop the attack on Rafah city in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli delegation, made up of officers from the military and spy agency Mossad, was tasked with creating an operational center to support the talks, the source said. Their responsibilities include vetting proposed Palestinian detainees. Hamas has been demanding the release of these prisoners in exchange for the release of hostages.
The ongoing peace talks in the Gaza conflict are running longer than ever, the Israeli delegation has suggested. The initiative gained momentum in February. At the time, Hamas offered a four-and-a-half-month ceasefire. But Israel refused.
Last week in Paris, Israeli officials discussed the terms of the hostage release deal with representatives of the United States, Egypt and Qatar. However, Hamas was not present in that discussion.
An understanding has been reached about the outline of a hostage deal, the White House said. However, the discussion is still ongoing. The Israeli delegation informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wartime cabinet of the progress on Saturday night.
Egyptian security sources said the talks between Israeli and Hamas representatives would be through mediators, but not face-to-face, even though they are located in the same city. The talks will be held first in Qatar and later in Cairo this week.
Israel has not officially commented on the talks. Qatari officials did not comment on Monday.
The parties to the conflict still differ widely in their public positions. Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, has said it will not release hundreds of Israeli hostages it is holding unless its troops withdraw from Gaza and the war ends.
And Israel has been saying that they will only negotiate for a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the release of the hostages. They will not stop operations until Hamas is completely eliminated and they will be in control of the overall security of Gaza indefinitely.
Note that Israel has been attacking Gaza since October 7. They are carrying out this attack in response to the killing of about 1,200 people in Israel by the Hamas attack that day. According to the Palestinian Authority, about 30,000 people have been killed in the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.
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