Israeli Delegation to Doha and Hamas Delegation Ready for New Round of Negotiations

SadaNews - The Israeli negotiating delegation left on Sunday to the Qatari capital, Doha, to begin a new round of indirect negotiations with Hamas, aimed at reaching an agreement for the release of prisoners and a ceasefire in Gaza.

The delegation includes, according to Israeli media, the Deputy Head of the Shin Bet, known by the letter "M", Coordinator for the Prisoners and Missing Persons file, Gal Hirsch, the political advisor to the Prime Minister, Ofir Akunis, and a senior official from the Mossad.

Reports indicate that a delegation of representatives from the army, Mossad, and Shin Bet will also participate in the talks at the professional team level, while Egypt has sent a security delegation to Doha that arrived on Saturday, while the negotiating delegation from Hamas is in the Qatari capital.

Sources familiar with the negotiations told the "Al-Araby Al-Jadeed" newspaper that the meetings will begin on Sunday in Doha, amid serious atmospheres and international pressure towards reaching a comprehensive agreement before the scheduled meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday evening in Washington.

The sources added that all the participating parties, including the mediators from Egypt, the United States, and Qatar, showed readiness to expedite the agreement, amid clear American insistence on announcing a final understanding before the anticipated political meeting in Washington. They suggested that the final signing of the agreement could take place in Cairo if consensus is reached on all items during the Doha sessions, with the participation of the guaranteeing parties.

These developments come at a time of widespread regional and international anticipation, after weeks of stagnation due to disagreements over security arrangements and post-ceasefire guarantees. The parties estimate that the coming hours will be decisive in determining the fate of the current round and whether it will yield an agreement that puts an end to the ongoing war in Gaza for nearly nine months.

Netanyahu is set to depart for Washington at five in the evening on Sunday, with a meeting with Trump scheduled for six-thirty in the evening on Monday Washington time (one-thirty in the early morning Tuesday Jerusalem time). Meanwhile, Netanyahu's office is seeking to adjust the visit schedule to coincide the announcement of any political breakthrough with the evening news broadcast in Israel.

The Israeli government approved via a phone vote held before Netanyahu's departure to the airport, for the Prime Minister to travel to Washington until next Friday, while Minister of Security, Israel Katz, was tasked with heading the Cabinet during Netanyahu's absence, with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin, presiding over the government sessions during this period.

For its part, the "France Presse" agency quoted a knowledgeable Palestinian official stating that the mediators officially informed Hamas of the start of a new round of indirect negotiations in Doha, clarifying that the movement's delegation, headed by Khalil Al-Hayya, and the technical teams, "are currently in Doha and ready for serious negotiations".

According to the same source, the proposed offer currently includes a truce lasting sixty days, during which about half of the living Israeli prisoners will be released in exchange for Israel freeing a number of Palestinian prisoners, with subsequent phases to be completed in later negotiations.

The source indicated that Hamas is demanding amendments to the proposal, including conditions for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, providing guarantees to stop attacks after the truce ends, in addition to returning the management of humanitarian aid distribution to the United Nations and recognized international organizations, after removing entities associated with U.S.-Israeli plans.