Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has authorized an Israeli negotiating delegation to travel to Qatar and Egypt in the coming days for talks on the release of hostages still held in Gaza, as confirmed by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
The office stated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given approval for the next round of talks to take place in Doha and Cairo, with specific guidelines for advancing the negotiations. This decision followed discussions with the Director of the Mossad and the Director of the Israel Security Agency (ISA), also known as Shin Bet or Shabak, Israel’s domestic security agency.
Previously, Israel's Mossad Director David Barnea and Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar had returned to Israel without a breakthrough in indirect ceasefire-hostage talks with Hamas, mediated by Qatar and Egypt. Last week, CIA Director Bill Burns met with Israeli, Egyptian, and Qatari counterparts in Doha and presented a proposal that was accepted by Israel and relayed to Hamas.
However, on Tuesday morning, Israel was informed that Hamas had rejected the proposal. Consequently, Israel decided to recall the negotiating team that had remained in Doha after the departure of Burns and Barnea from Qatar.
