Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided on Tuesday that most of the Israeli delegation involved in hostage negotiations in Doha will return to Israel, including senior officials Gal Hirsch and “M,” sources told The Jerusalem Post.
A small team will remain in Qatar to signal to the Americans that Israel is still willing to make efforts to reach a deal. However, Israeli officials emphasized that no progress has been made, and there is no indication that Hamas is shifting its position, and the process has been exhausted.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Al-Thani told reporters on Tuesday that the talks, held over recent weeks, had not yielded results due to “significant differences between the sides.”
On Monday evening, Netanyahu had agreed to extend the delegation’s stay in Doha by another day to give the negotiations additional time. “We’re staying in Doha so as not to offend the United States. It wouldn’t look good if Israel left before Hamas,” a senior Israeli official told Kan on Monday.
Israel allowed five trucks carrying humanitarian aid into Gaza on Monday, marking the first time aid was allowed into the strip in two months.
Netanyahu reportedly told government officials last week: “I promised Witkoff to allow aid into Gaza immediately.” The prime minister had attempted to facilitate the delivery over the weekend, coinciding with the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander.
The Prime Minister’s Office denied any linkage between the two events, stating the release occurred “without any compensation.”
Renewed hostage deal talks aiming for a partial release for a temporary ceasefire
Talks have been ongoing since the release of Edan Alexander last Monday. Hamas officials have told CNN that they were willing to release between seven and nine hostages in return for a two-month ceasefire and the release of 300 Palestinian prisoners. Israel has been negotiating based on the “Witkoff outline,” which would see the release of 10 living hostages for a 45-day ceasefire.
Hamas is pressing for stronger American guarantees that a complete end to the war will be negotiated, even if only a partial ceasefire is agreed upon.
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