A senior US administration official said that negotiations between all parties regarding Gaza will resume starting today in the Qatari capital, Doha, at a time when pressure is mounting on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach an agreement.

The senior US administration official explained that the talks between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu focused on the details of the negotiations to release the hostages and ceasefire.

He said that the two sides discussed the outstanding issues, most of which are now specifically related to how to implement the agreement. He pointed out that Hamas' response to Biden's proposals pushes the process forward and may provide the basis for concluding the agreement and setting the framework for reaching a final agreement.

In addition, Biden said that he discussed with Netanyahu efforts to finalize an agreement that would lead to a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza.

For its part, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority indicated that CIA Director William Burns and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan participated in the Netanyahu-Biden conversation.

Yesterday, Netanyahu agreed to send the negotiating delegation to resume negotiations in Doha, with Israel announcing that it had received, through mediators, a response from Hamas to the proposal of a prisoner exchange agreement.

Neither Israel, Hamas, nor the mediators published the new response that the movement submitted to the mediators and was transmitted to Israel on Wednesday, but the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said that Netanyahu assured Biden of Israel’s commitment to ending the war only after achieving all its goals.

Barnea to Doha

Meanwhile, Israeli Channel 12 said that the head of the Israeli intelligence service (Mossad), David Barnea, went to Doha without the negotiating delegation and is expected to return to Israel today.

Barnea will meet with the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani before the start of the negotiations.

In a related context, Israeli Channel 14 quoted an Israeli army official as saying that the army leadership is ready to accept any deal with Hamas at any price, and that the main thing is to stop the war. The official explained that the army is moving in the direction of accepting the deal.

Source: Al Jazeera