An American and Israeli delegation will arrive in the Qatari capital, Doha, in the coming days to discuss ways to move the negotiations forward, in an attempt to reach a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas, and to stop the ongoing genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 7.

This came according to what was announced by the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, during a joint press conference held with the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, today, Thursday; noting that the negotiations have been suspended for a long time in light of the Israeli escalation in Gaza as well as in Lebanon.

A senior Israeli official told Channel 13 this evening that "an Israeli delegation is expected to arrive in Doha soon to complete the negotiations." Israeli reports indicated that an Israeli-Egyptian proposal was being prepared to conclude a limited exchange deal that includes a truce for several days, in an attempt to move the negotiations forward in an effort to reach a larger deal.

The Qatari Prime Minister said, "There is a negotiating team from the United States that will visit Doha alongside the negotiating team from the Israeli side, and the means through which a breakthrough can be achieved in these negotiations will be discussed." He confirmed that Doha "re-established communication" with the movement after the martyrdom of its leader, Yahya Sinwar, in Rafah.

Asked if Qatar had reached out to Hamas leaders after Sinwar's killing, he said: "We have reconnected with representatives of the (Hamas) political bureau in Doha. We have held some meetings with them in the past few days."

"I think that as of now, there is no clarity on the way forward," he added.

In turn, Blinken said Thursday that the United States is open to "different options" to end the war in Gaza after months of efforts to push for a US proposal for a ceasefire. He said: "We are considering different options. We have not yet determined whether Hamas is ready to participate, but the next step is to bring the negotiators together... We will certainly know more in the coming days."