Written by Maayan Lubell
JERUSALEM – An Israeli security team arrived in Qatar on Sunday for talks on the occupation of Gaza and a cease-fire agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman said, in a sign of possible deals.
Qatar and fellow mediators Egypt and the United States are making renewed efforts to reach an agreement to end hostilities in the region and free the remaining 98 hostages held there before President-elect Donald Trump took office on January 20.
Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday that the delegation included Mossad Chief David Barnea, the head of the Shin Bet domestic security unit Ronen Bar and the hostage-taking military chief, Nitzan Alon.
Trump’s ambassador to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, met on Saturday with Netanyahu, after meeting on Friday with the Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Israeli and Palestinian officials said as of Thursday that progress had been made in indirect talks between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas, but they were not concerned. The parties have been keeping a tight lid on the details being worked on.
It is not clear how they will close one of the biggest gaps in previous talks: Hamas wants the war to end and Israel says it will not end the war as long as Hamas controls Gaza and poses a threat to Israel. .
Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed its borders in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting more than 250 people, according to Israeli figures.
Since then, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, and most of the enclave has been devastated and gripped by a humanitarian crisis, and most of its people have been displaced.
