The Chief of Israel’s Intelligence Agency – Mossad will travel to Doha as the head of a negotiating delegation amid a renewed push to end the war in Gaza.
Mossad Chief – David Barnea will meet with the Prime Minister of Qatar – Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani before the start of a new round of negotiations.
News of Israeli negotiators returning to talks in Qatar follow after Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Joe Biden in a phone call on Thursday that he had decided to send a delegation to negotiate with Hamas. But Netanyahu also said the war in Gaza would only end after “achieving all its objectives”, the prime minister’s office said in a statement.
The move comes after the Prime Minister of Israel – Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with the President of the United States (U.S.) – Joe Biden over the phone and informed him that Israel will send a delegation to negotiate with Hamas. He also said that the war will continue till Israel achieves its objectives.
Taking it to X, Biden tweeted,
Earlier I spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss ongoing efforts to finalize a deal that would result in a ceasefire together with the release of hostages – a deal that I have outlined and is endorsed by the UN Security Council, the G7, and countries around the world. pic.twitter.com/2Rza1GFj1k
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 4, 2024
Hamas, on its part, has recently presented new proposals to Qatari, Egyptian and Turkish mediators regarding a ceasefire and a captive exchange deal. A U.S. official noted a shift in Hamas’s stance on a potential agreement, describing the development as a “breakthrough” while cautioning that significant obstacles remain.
The revival of negotiations comes amidst Israel’s intense attack on second-largest city in the Southern Gaza Strip – Khan Younis. As of now, more than 38,000 people have been killed and more than 87,266 people have been wounded. Both Israel and Hamas are under increased international pressure to reach a truce.
Recently, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) had unanimously passed a resolution endorsing a U.S.-backed ceasefire plan for halting the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza. The ceasefire proposal outlines a comprehensive three-phase plan designed to de-escalate one of the most prolonged conflicts in recent history. The first phase involves a 6-week ceasefire period accompanied by an exchange of Israeli captives for Palestinian prisoners. The resolution goes into detail about the proposal and spells out that if the negotiations take longer than six weeks for phase one, the ceasefire will still continue as long as negotiations continue. Phase 1 also requires the safe distribution of humanitarian assistance at scale throughout the Gaza Strip, which Biden said would lead to 600 trucks with aid entering Gaza every day.
The second phase aims for a permanent ceasefire agreement and the release of the remaining captives. The final phase focuses on the reconstruction of the war-torn Gaza Strip, signalling a long-term commitment to rebuild and restore normalcy in the region.
While the U.S. insists Israel backs the plan, Netanyahu has repeatedly called it into question, promising not to end the war until Hamas is eradicated. Hamas wants a commitment that any agreement will end the war for good.
