Israel and Hamas are under pressure from outgoing US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump to reach an agreement before the January 20 inauguration.
A sign of progress? The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced Saturday evening that it had instructed a delegation of senior officials to join ongoing negotiations in Qatar aimed at reaching a truce agreement in exchange for the release of hostages held by Hamas.
The delegation includes the head of the Mossad (foreign intelligence), David Barnea, the director of the Shin Bet (internal security), Ronen Bar, the reserve general Nitzan Alon, in charge of the hostages file, and the “foreign policy” advisor of Benjamin Netanyahu, Ophir Falk, the office said in a statement.
The announcement was preceded by consultations in Jerusalem with representatives of the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration.
A photo was published showing Mr. Netanyahu with Steve Witkoff, President-elect Donald Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East.
According to Hebrew media, Mr. Witkoff stressed to Mr. Netanyahu that Mr. Trump “wished“a hostage deal before his inauguration on January 20. Keshet 12 reported that Trump’s envoy emphasized that both sides needed to demonstrate “flexibility” to reach an agreement.
Hamas sources said on Saturday that an agreement had been “finalized” and that he was only awaiting final approval from the Israeli side.
In 15 months of war in the Palestinian enclave, only one truce has been concluded and it lasted less than a week. Since then, talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar have continued to bog down.
The families of the approximately 100 hostages still held in Gaza after being captured during the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks in Israel, which sparked the war, are putting pressure on Mr Netanyahu, demanding an immediate deal with Hamas.
The recovery of the bodies of two hostages over the past week has reignited tensions, with families accusing the government of inaction.
Hamas has repeatedly said that after months of fierce fighting, the radical Palestinian group does not know how many Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip are still alive.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week that a deal was “very close” and that he hoped it would be signed before handing over to the Trump administration. But U.S. officials have expressed similar optimism several times over the past year.
Hamas and other affiliated groups killed some 1,200 people and took around 250 hostages during the October 7, 2023 attacks.
Hamas’ health ministry said more than 46,000 Palestinians had been killed in the war, a toll that may be underestimated by 40 percent, according to a study published in the journal The Lancet.
