A senior Israeli envoy has met the prime minister of Qatar, a key mediator in the conflict in Gaza, a source said on Saturday, while sources from Egypt suggested Israel appeared to be more open to a new deal with Hamas.
In another signal of a possible breakthrough, Israeli media said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would convene his security cabinet and deliver a televised statement on Saturday evening. Netanyahu’s office did not immediately confirm that.
The Gaza war, triggered by a shock Hamas killing and kidnapping spree in south Israel on Oct. 7, has shaken regional and world powers as the Palestinian civilian toll spirals.
While pledging to destroy Hamas, Israel has also sought to recover hostages held by the Iranian-backed group.
In late November, it entered a week-long, Qatari- and Egyptian-brokered truce under which Hamas released more than 100 women, children and foreigners it was holding in exchange for 240 Palestinian women and teenagers freed from Israeli jails.
Renewed Gaza fighting stretches into second day after Israel-Hamas truce collapses
Representing Israel at those negotiations was its spy service Mossad. On Friday, Mossad director David Barnea met Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in a European capital, a source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Axios, which broke the news of the talks, said it was the first meeting between the two since the November truce. The source who spoke to Reuters said Barnea returned to Israel early on Saturday to brief Netanyahu.
Two Egyptian security sources said Israeli officials appeared more willing, in calls with mediators, to strike a fresh deal for a Gaza ceasefire and release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the recovery of hostages.
The Egyptian sources said Israeli officials appeared to have changed their mind on some points that they had previously refused, but did not go into further detail.
There was no immediate response from Netanyahu government spokespeople to the Egyptian assessment or to Barnea’s mission.
The hostage crisis has become ever-more acute in Israel since its military disclosed that troops had accidentally killed three hostages who approached them with a white flag after apparently having escaped their captors in Gaza on Friday.
Israel believes that another 20 or more of the 130 hostages still held in Gaza are dead.
Families of the hostages held a rally on Saturday, demanding that Israel consider releasing senior Palestinian from jail in any new swap deal.
“The Israeli government needs to be active. They need to put an offer on the table, including prisoners with blood on their hands, and put the best offer on the table to get the hostages back alive,” said Ruby Chen, father of 19-year-old hostage Itay.
“We don’t want them back in bags.”
A Hamas official, when asked earlier if there was a drive to resume hostage negotiations, told Reuters there was nothing new to report. But in an apparent effort to sway Israeli public opinion, Hamas also released a video showing slain hostages and ending with the Hebrew warning: “Time is running out.”