UPDATE - Israel to send delegation to Qatar for talks on hostage exchange: Report

REVISES DECK, LEDE, ADDS MORE INFORMATION

By Zain Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) – An Israeli delegation will arrive in Qatar on Monday to hold discussions with mediators on the details of a possible hostage exchange deal with Hamas in exchange for a temporary cease-fire in the war in the Gaza Strip, Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported Sunday.

“The Israeli delegation includes representatives from the Mossad intelligence agency and the Israeli army and will arrive in Qatar on Monday, even though Hamas has not yet responded to the new broad outlines of the deal agreed upon in the Paris talks,” said the newspaper.

It spoke of the “cautious optimism prevailing in Israel due to the flexibility shown by Hamas recently in its demands, so it was decided to continue the talks to make progress.”

It added that the talks in Doha will be at the professional level rather than at the level of heads of security organizations.

“The negotiations will address all issues related to the (possible) deal, including the list of hostages in Gaza to be released and the identities of the Palestinian prisoners expected to be released.”

The parties will also discuss “the process of a cease-fire, including the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Palestinian cities in the Gaza Strip, the cessation of intelligence gathering by Israel during the cease-fire period, and the limited return of citizens from southern Gaza to its north.”

According to the newspaper, "another Israeli delegation is expected to arrive in Cairo next week to agree on the mechanism for releasing detainees in Gaza."

It said “there is cautious optimism in Israel, with senior officials acknowledging that things look good at the moment. However, they still stress that it is too early to know whether a deal will be reached or not.”

The newspaper added, however, that “in addition to the cautious optimism, informed sources expressed fears this evening that (Israeli) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may intensify his positions in order to sabotage the deal due to pressure from his (right-wing) partners.”

The sources warned that “Netanyahu's continued threat of a military operation in (the southern Gaza city of) Rafah coinciding with the negotiations could derail the talks and cause Hamas to intensify its positions.”

The newspaper said that “even if an agreement is eventually reached, it is not yet clear whether it will receive the support of Netanyahu's partners on the right.”

“The plan under the deal, according to various reports, includes a temporary cease-fire for six weeks, during which up to 40 (Israeli) detainees would be released in exchange for the release of up to 300 Palestinian prisoners,” it added.

Israel’s war cabinet decided Saturday to send a delegation to Qatar to hold talks on a hostage exchange agreement with the Palestinian group Hamas.

“An Israeli delegation with a level of representation lower than that at the Paris talks will go to Qatar to continue negotiations on the hostage exchange deal,” Israel’s Channel 12 reported.

The channel also quoted an unnamed Israeli official as saying that there is significant progress and a solid foundation for talks regarding the release of hostages detained in Gaza, through which the elements of negotiations can be built and agreements can be reached.

The official added that the broad outlines of the discussions include the release of 40 Israeli hostages held in Gaza including women, children, soldiers and patients in exchange for a six-week pause and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

The talks in Paris began on Friday afternoon with the participation of an Israeli delegation headed by Mossad chief David Barnea, US CIA chief William Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel in an attempt to reach a hostage exchange deal between Israel and Hamas.

No deal was reached during the talks. However, Israeli media reported Saturday that the Israeli delegation returned from Paris and spoke of “good negotiations and a positive atmosphere.”

A cease-fire between Hamas and Israel had previously been reached for a week from Nov. 24 to Dec. 1, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US, during which hostilities were halted, prisoners were swapped and an extremely limited amount of humanitarian aid was delivered to Gaza.

Israel believes that 134 Israelis are still being held in Gaza, while it is holding at least 8,800 Palestinians in its prisons, according to official sources from both parties.

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border incursion by Hamas, killing more than 29,690 people and causing mass destruction and shortages of necessities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Hostilities have continued unabated, however, and aid deliveries remain woefully insufficient to address the humanitarian catastrophe.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala