Israeli media said that negotiations for the hostage deal and truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas began on Wednesday in the Qatari capital, Doha.
Delegations from Egypt, Qatar, the United States and Israel will meet in Doha, on Wednesday, in order to resume ceasefire talks and the hostage deal in Gaza.
The Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that the Israeli delegation includes Mossad chief David Barnea, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, and Nitzan Alon, who is in charge of the hostage issue in the Israeli army.
Yedioth Ahronoth quoted sources familiar with the negotiations as saying that this round will be complex and will take several weeks, noting that during the Doha meeting an attempt will be made to narrow the gaps on the issues that are still in dispute between Israel and Hamas.
The newspaper reported that the meeting's agenda includes confirming and strengthening the points agreed upon between the two parties, which have already been approved as part of US President Joe Biden's proposal.
The source explained that "the head of Egyptian intelligence and his American counterpart will attend the Doha meeting," on a mission to "bring closer the views between Israel and Hamas to reach a truce agreement as soon as possible."
He said: “There is agreement on many points,” adding that “negotiations will return to Cairo on Thursday.”
Presented in Cairo
A correspondent for the American news site Axios spoke of "progress in the talks on the hostage deal" that took place in Cairo on Tuesday.
He explained, "Israel expresses its satisfaction with the round of talks that took place in Cairo, but it is keen not to develop expectations regarding the rate of progress of negotiations on the deal, and the possibility of reaching an agreement in the coming days."
Another Israeli official said: “We are facing difficult and complex negotiations that will take several weeks.”
The Egyptian presidency said in a statement that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and CIA Director William Burns met in Cairo on Tuesday.
The presidency added that Al-Sisi “confirmed in this regard the Egyptian position rejecting the continuation of military operations in the Gaza Strip.”
Egypt and Qatar are leading mediation efforts in the 9-month-long war between Israel and Hamas, hoping to end the fighting and release Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
Senior American officials visited the region to press for a ceasefire, after Hamas made concessions last week, but the movement said that a new Israeli attack on Gaza threatened the truce talks at a crucial moment, and called on the mediators to restrain Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The presidency stated that Sisi also stressed the need to take “serious and effective steps” to prevent the Gaza conflict from spreading to the region.
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