Israel's Netanyahu sends Mossad director to Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar in sign of progress

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office stated on Saturday that he would send the head of the Mossad foreign intelligence agency to Qatar for ceasefire talks, signaling progress in negotiations regarding the Gaza war. These talks are taking place against a backdrop of all parties hoping to reach an agreement before the US presidential inauguration.

It is not yet clear when David Barnea will travel to Doha, the capital of Qatar, for the latest round of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas. Barnea's presence indicates that high-level Israeli officials who need to sign off on any agreement are involved. Previously, during the 15-month war, only one brief ceasefire was achieved in the initial weeks, and subsequent negotiations mediated by the US, Egypt, and Qatar repeatedly stalled.

The current focus of discussion is a phased ceasefire, with Netanyahu stating he is only committed to the first phase, which involves a partial release of hostages in exchange for a pause in fighting for several weeks. Hamas, on the other hand, is insisting on a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the battered territory, but Netanyahu insists on destroying Hamas' fighting capabilities in Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry stated on Thursday that more than 46,000 Palestinians have died in the war, mostly women and children, but did not specify how many were militants or civilians.

In addition to Barnea, the head of Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency, as well as military and political advisors, will also be sent to Qatar. Netanyahu's office stated that this decision was made after meetings with the defense minister, security chiefs, and negotiators, "representing both the outgoing and incoming US administrations." The office also released a photo showing Netanyahu with Steve Witkoff, the incoming Middle East envoy for President-elect Donald Trump, who was in Qatar this week.

Approximately 100 hostages remain held in Gaza since the Hamas attack that triggered the war on October 7, 2023, and their families are pressuring Netanyahu to reach an agreement to bring their loved ones home. On Saturday night, Israelis gathered again in Tel Aviv to display photos of the hostages. Outgoing US Ambassador Jack Lew said at the gathering, "We share the hope that the negotiations in Doha will be successful. We are encouraged by today's news, but we know we cannot stop working."

The discovery of the remains of two hostages in the past week has heightened concerns about the urgency of the situation. Hamas has stated that after months of intense fighting, they are unsure who is still alive or has died. "Come back with an agreement that ensures the return of all hostages, including those alive for rehabilitation, and those who have passed away to be properly buried in their homelands," a group representing some of the hostage families said in a statement.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week that an agreement was "very close," and he hoped to finalize it before handing over diplomatic affairs to the incoming Trump administration. However, US officials have expressed similar optimism multiple times in the past year. Issues in the negotiations include which hostages would be released in the first part of a phased ceasefire agreement, which Palestinian prisoners would be released, and the extent of Israeli troop withdrawal from populated areas in Gaza.

Hamas and other groups killed approximately 1,200 people and took around 250 hostages into Gaza in the attack that triggered the war. A truce reached in November 2023 led to the release of over 100 hostages, while others have been rescued or their remains recovered over the past year. The Israeli military announced on Saturday that four soldiers were killed in northern Gaza, without providing details. At least 400 soldiers have died in the war. This week, six more were killed in largely isolated northern Gaza, where Israel has launched an offensive against regrouping Hamas militants. The Israeli military stated it has killed over 17,000 militants during the war, but did not provide evidence.

On Saturday, a 5-year-old girl and two male relatives were killed in an airstrike in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which was seen by an AFP team on the ground. The girl's body, clad in a pink sweater, was wrapped in foil and placed on the morgue floor. Her father knelt down and pressed his face to hers, crying out "God!" According to the civil defense department, an emergency service linked to the Hamas government, another Israeli airstrike killed at least eight Palestinians, including two children and two women, at a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza. The department stated that the attack on the Halawa school in the Jabalia area, which was housing displaced people, also injured 30 people, including 19 children. The Israeli military stated it targeted a Hamas command center in a former school in Jabalia but did not provide evidence. Civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal said an attack killed four people on a street in Gaza City. In total, the Gaza Health Ministry stated that at least 32 bodies were taken to hospitals in the past 24 hours.

"I ask the world, do you hear us? Do we exist?" said Hamza Saleh, one of the vast majority of the 2.3 million residents of Gaza who have been displaced. He was speaking in the southern city of Khan Yunis on Friday as children and others scrambled for food aid amid growing hunger.