Israel’s Mossad chief leaves Qatar amid Gaza truce talks

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – The head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, David Barnea, returned to Israel from Qatar on Tuesday, according to Israeli media.

Barnea, who heads an Israeli delegation to indirect talks with Hamas for a truce deal in the Gaza Strip, is expected to hold talks with Israeli officials, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported.

The Israeli delegation arrived in the Gulf country on Monday for talks on details of a possible truce deal with Hamas in Gaza.

Qatar, along with Egypt and the US, is mediating between Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement for a Gaza truce and hostage-prisoner swap.

Hamas, which is believed to be holding nearly 130 Israeli hostages, demands an end to Israel’s ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip in return for any hostage deal with Israel.

A previous deal in November 2023 saw the release of 81 Israelis and 24 foreigners in exchange for 240 Palestinians, including 71 women and 169 children.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last October, which killed 1,200 people.

More than 31,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and almost 74,000 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.​​​​​​​

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar