The source, who requested to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the talks, said that the meetings between the head of the Israeli intelligence service (Mossad) David Barnea, the director of the CIA Bill Burns, and the Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha, which ended on Monday, discussed A truce for “less than a month” in Gaza.
He pointed out that the truce includes an exchange of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, and an increase in aid to the Gaza Strip.
Over the past year, Qatar and the United States have engaged side by side Egyptin mediation to stop the ongoing war in Gaza and release Israeli hostages in the Strip and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, but all efforts to reach an agreement failed.
In an attempt to break the impasse with the end of US President Joe Biden’s term approaching, Washington and Doha announced last week that a new round of in-person talks would be held in the Qatari capital, which would explore new options.
The same source indicated that “American officials believe that if a short-term agreement is concluded, this may lead to a more permanent agreement.”
Israeli negotiators met with American and Qatari mediators in Doha on Sunday and Monday in an attempt to ensure a quick outcome to the talks that would strengthen Biden’s legacy, despite the decline in the outgoing president’s political ability as the US elections on November 5 approach.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said Benjamin Netanyahu On Monday, Barnia met with American and Qatari mediators in Doha, where they agreed on the need to talk with Hamas about a deal to release the Israelis who were captured during the attack launched by the movement on October 7, 2023.
Netanyahu’s office indicated, “In the coming days, discussions will continue between the mediators and Hamas to evaluate the feasibility of the talks and continue efforts to strengthen the agreement.”
That statement came after an Egyptian proposal for a two-day truce and a limited exchange of prisoners, the Egyptian president said Abdel Fattah El-Sisi It may lead to a permanent ceasefire.
Netanyahu later said that he had not received the Egyptian proposal, but that he would have “immediately accepted it” if it had been presented.
He renewed the killing of the head of the Hamas political bureau Yahya Al-Sanwar About two weeks ago, there was hope that the truce talks would be revived.
The previous round of talks held in August in Egypt and Qatar, based on an amendment to an initial proposal submitted by Biden in May, ended without reaching a final agreement.
In its first phase, the US President’s proposal stipulated a truce lasting 6 weeks, accompanied by an Israeli withdrawal from populated areas in Gaza, an exchange of hostages and prisoners, and an increase in aid to the Gaza Strip.
