Israel is considering dispatching another delegation of senior officials to Doha in an effort to advance a ceasefire and hostage release agreement, Kan News reported Friday evening, citing Israeli sources familiar with the matter.
According to the report, neither Israel nor Hamas has yet responded to the proposal presented by the mediators on Thursday - a response that will determine whether negotiations continue.
The mediators are currently awaiting replies from both Israel and Hamas to their proposal, in addition to Hamas's response to a new Israeli offer concerning the deployment of IDF troops in the Gaza Strip.
In the meantime, a Palestinian Arab source told Kan News, "Patience is required. These things take time. Hamas is still discussing whether and how to accept Israel's new proposal."
The report noted that this is only one of several contentious issues that remain unresolved, including the identities of the terrorist prisoners slated for release.
Earlier on Friday, a senior diplomatic source said that Israel has made "significant progress" over the past two weeks in efforts to reach a hostage deal with the Hamas terrorist organization.
However, the source noted that negotiations continue to face serious challenges. "Hamas is behaving as though time is on its side, but it will find the battlefield tells a different story," the source warned.
Despite the hurdles, the Israeli delegation remains in Qatar. “The situation cannot be described as either pessimistic or optimistic,” the source said. “But we must be realistic about Hamas's conduct.”
The source questioned Hamas's intentions. “We are approaching a critical juncture. Hamas’s foot-dragging, even if it believes it serves its interests, may ultimately work against it.”
Meanwhile, Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas’s military wing, claimed on Friday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a Hamas proposal to release all hostages. In his first recorded statement since March 6, he warned that if no ceasefire agreement is reached in this round of talks, Hamas may not agree to partial deals in the future.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)