By Abdelraouf Arnaout
JERUSALEM (AA) - An Israeli official delegation on Wednesday departed from Tel Aviv on its way to Qatar to join the Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap talks, according to Israeli media.
The Israeli daily Haaretz said the delegation is headed by Israel's Mossad chief David Barnea to attend a four-party meeting in Doha with the participation of representatives from Qatar, Egypt, and the US.
Barnea is escorted by Ronen Bar, the head of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security services, and Nitzan Alon, who oversees files of the hostages in the Israeli army, Haaretz added.
It noted that the Israeli delegation will meet with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, CIA Director William Burns, and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel.
The meeting is considered critical as it may reveal whether it is possible to reach a deal between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in the upcoming days, Haaretz also said.
Indirect talks have resumed this week in both Cairo and Doha as Israeli delegations were dispatched to both capitals in addition to the presence of CIA Director Burns.
Egypt, Qatar, and the US have been trying for months to secure a truce and the release of 120 remaining hostages in Gaza, but to no avail, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on continuing war until what he says to achieve a full defeat against Hamas in Gaza.
Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.
Nearly 38,200 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 87,900 others injured, according to local health authorities.
Nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.
*Writing by Ahmed Asma