Biden’s envoy and the head of the Mossad participate in the Gaza negotiations, and Netanyahu holds a consultation session news

American and Israeli reports stated that US President Joe Biden’s envoy and the head of Israeli Foreign Intelligence (Mossad) are about to participate in a new round of negotiations to reach a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip and exchange prisoners between the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Israel.

Axios quoted an American official as confirming that Brett McGurk – Biden’s envoy and chief advisor for Middle East affairs – had arrived in the Qatari capital, Doha, to join the talks on the exchange deal.

At the same time, Israeli Channel 12 said that Mossad chief David Barnea is expected to go to Qatar tomorrow, Monday, to participate in negotiations on the exchange deal.

The channel quoted Israeli officials as saying that great progress had been made in the negotiations, but “it is too early to offer congratulations on reaching the end.”

Likewise, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that the head of the Mossad will travel to Doha tomorrow to hold a round of negotiations in the presence of American official Brett McGurk.

The newspaper reported that the mediators confirmed that the expected exchange deal was going through a “decisive day” after the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, published a video yesterday, Saturday, of its captive Israeli soldier, Liri Albag, in which she directed harsh criticism at the Israeli government, accusing it of negligence in recovering the prisoners.

Partial deal warning

Yedioth Ahronoth also quoted senior security sources in Israel warning that the Benjamin Netanyahu government’s efforts to conclude an exchange deal in which a limited number of Israeli prisoners would be released for one time only would expose the rest of the prisoners held by Hamas to danger.

Meanwhile, Israeli media said that Netanyahu will hold a limited consultation session today to discuss developments in the deal talks.

Channel 13 said that the consultation session will be held in the presence of a small number of ministers, including Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

On the other hand, the Israeli Minister of Culture and Sports and a member of the Likud Party – which leads the ruling coalition – Miki Zohar called on members of the government to support what he described as the important deal that Netanyahu is working on.

Zohar confirmed, in a post on the X website, that he and members of the government from the Likud Party would support the exchange deal that would “return Israeli prisoners held by Hamas and guarantee the security of Israeli soldiers.”

The anger of the families of the prisoners

Meanwhile, Haaretz newspaper reported from a relative of a prisoner in Gaza that a senior official in the Israeli negotiating team told him that “returning the kidnapped people is not the government’s top priority,” and that “despite attempts to reduce the possibility of the kidnapped people being harmed during the strikes (on Gaza), the army “Their whereabouts are not known, and they may be harmed.”

In the same context, Israeli Army Radio quoted the father of a captured soldier as saying that a request had been submitted to meet the Israeli Prime Minister, and it seems that he “does not have time for the fathers of soldiers who fought for the country.” The father of the captured soldier confirmed that an exchange deal would be concluded if Netanyahu wanted it.

The Hamas movement stresses that any prisoner exchange agreement must lead to a complete cessation of the aggression against the Gaza Strip, the withdrawal of the occupation forces, and the return of the displaced to their areas. It has repeatedly accused Netanyahu of procrastinating the negotiations and setting new conditions to obstruct them.

The families of the prisoners and the Israeli opposition accuse Netanyahu of obstructing reaching an agreement to maintain his position and government, as extremist ministers – including Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich – threaten to withdraw from the government and topple it if he accepts ending the war on Gaza.