Starting today, Sunday, the Qatari capital, Doha, will witness talks, with the participation of the Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, and the Head of the Israeli Foreign Intelligence Service (Mossad), David Barnea, to discuss the possibility of resuming negotiations on reaching a prisoner exchange deal with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

In a joint press conference in Doha on Thursday, the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken - who was visiting the region - confirmed that negotiations on the exchange deal and ceasefire will resume in Doha.

Blinken said the ceasefire plan put forward by US President Joe Biden on May 31 was still on the table, but he also hinted at a willingness to explore "new frameworks" to seek the release of detainees.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Barnea would discuss with various parties in Doha "various options for starting negotiations to release the hostages held by Hamas in light of the latest developments."

A Hamas official confirmed that a delegation from the movement discussed proposals for a ceasefire with Egyptian officials in Cairo, according to Agence France-Presse.

He stressed the movement's readiness to stop fighting if Israel commits to a ceasefire, withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the return of the displaced, and the conclusion of a swap deal.

Axios reported that the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister met with a Hamas delegation a few days ago after the assassination of its political bureau chief Yahya Sinwar, and they informed him that they still adhere to their paper presented last August, in which the movement said that “the Palestinian people cannot accept partial deals today. Any effort to release prisoners held by Hamas must begin with a ceasefire.”

Last August, Hamas presented several key terms in the negotiating paper, which included stipulating a ceasefire and lifting the blockade on Gaza as an essential part of the agreement. Hamas also called for a mutual release of prisoners, whereby Palestinian prisoners would be released in exchange for the release of Israeli detainees, in addition to the withdrawal of Israeli forces from certain areas in Gaza, and the opening of crossings to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid.

The website indicated that Egypt and Israel are discussing reaching a short-term truce agreement, releasing a small number of prisoners, and providing humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been mediating between Israel and Hamas in talks for months, and negotiations broke down last August without reaching an agreement.

With American support, the ongoing Israeli genocidal war in Gaza, since October 7, 2023, has left more than 143,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and an unprecedented humanitarian disaster.