Gaza hostage and ceasefire talks in Doha “have begun,” a diplomat familiar with the matter told CNN on Sunday, marking the first round of high-level talks in more than two months.
Mossad chief David Barnea took part in the talks, after the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed last week that he would depart for Doha to promote negotiations for the release of the hostages held in Gaza.
The Prime Minister's Office stated, "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomes Egypt's readiness to advance a deal for the release of the hostages."
"Pursuant to the meetings that were held in Cairo, the Prime Minister has directed the Director of the Mossad to leave for Doha and advance a series of initiatives that are on the agenda, with the backing of the members of the Security Cabinet."
The Israeli negotiation team left for Qatar on Sunday without Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) Director Ronen Bar or the IDF's hostage liaison, Maj. Gen. (Res.) Nitzan Alon.
Meanwhile, Egypt publicly proposed a two-day ceasefire deal in which four Israeli hostages would be released in exchange for terrorist prisoners held in Israel and in the ten days following, negotiations would be held regarding a more extensive deal.
The United States has been pushing an outline for a ceasefire and hostage release deal that Biden first laid out in May, but Hamas has continuously rejected every proposal that has been presented to it.
Ahead of Sunday’s meetings in Qatar, Hamas sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the organization is offering a deal that would end the war "immediately" in one stage.
According to the sources, Hamas' proposal includes an Israeli withdrawal at the same time as a hostage-prisoner swap, which would include the release of all Israeli hostages in one wave.
The sources stated, "The organization opposes previous Israeli ideas such as the expulsion of Hamas leaders from the Gaza Strip. The organization will not refuse additional ideas offered by the mediators, but for the proposals to be accepted the ideas must start with ending the war."