UPDATE - Israel’s negotiating team heads to Egypt for Gaza cease-fire talks

ADDS MORE DETAILS, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Said Amori

JERUSALEM (AA) - A high-level Israeli delegation led by security agency Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar traveled to Cairo on Thursday for a fresh round of negotiations with Hamas on a prisoner exchange and cease-fire deal, the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

The delegation's departure coincided with a meeting of Israel's Security Cabinet at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv to discuss the ongoing negotiations.​​​​​​​

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed some 1,200 people and 250 others were taken as hostages.

Besides killing more than 38,000 Palestinians since then, the Israeli military campaign has turned much of the enclave of 2.3 million people into ruins, leaving most civilians homeless and at risk of famine.

Simultaneously, another Israeli delegation led by Mossad chief David Barnea returned from Qatar after participating in a four-way meeting on Wednesday.

Sources said the meeting included CIA director William Burns, Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

A statement by the Israeli prime minister's office said the meeting discussed clauses of the potential deal on returning the hostages and ways to implement an outline while ensuring all the "objectives of the war."

Hamas, meanwhile, said it has not been informed of any new development regarding the negotiations, and accused Israel of “buying time to thwart” the talks.

For months, efforts by mediators – the US, Egypt and Qatar – have been hampered by Israel's refusal to stop fighting without the return of all hostages and dismantling the governing capabilities of Hamas.

US President Joe Biden announced a three-phased truce plan in May, which includes the gradual release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and the pullback of Israeli forces. It also envisages the freeing of Palestinian prisoners and reconstruction of Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala and Mohammad Sio