OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel’s spy chiefs will attend talks in Doha on Thursday seeking a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal after more than 10 months of war, the prime minister’s office said on Wednesday.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved the departure of the Israeli delegation to Doha tomorrow, as well as the mandate for conducting the negotiations,” a statement said.

The head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, David Barnea, and Shin Bet security service chief Ronen Bar are part of the team, Netanyahu’s spokesman Omer Dostri told AFP.

Gaza truce talks to be held in Doha on Thursday: sources

“The head of the Mossad, the head of the Shin Bet, Nitzan Alon and Ophir Falk” make up the team, Dostri said. Alon coordinates issues related to hostages, and Falk is a political adviser to Netanyahu.

Palestinian group Hamas has not said whether it would send negotiators to Doha.

A Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that “negotiations with the mediators are continuing and have even intensified in recent hours”.

“Hamas wants the Biden plan imposed and doesn’t want to negotiate just to negotiate,” the official said, referring a ceasefire proposal laid out in late May by US President Joe Biden.

“We have to force the (Israeli) occupation government to stop its policy, which consists of dragging out the negotiations, and force it to stop massacring our people.”