Meetings are continuing in the Qatari capital, Doha, to discuss reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and a deal to exchange prisoners and detainees between the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Israel.

The meetings will be attended by Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) William Burns, and Head of the Israeli Foreign Intelligence Service (Mossad) David Barnea.

Reuters quoted an informed official as saying that the talks will seek to reach a new short-term agreement to cease fire in the Gaza Strip and release some detainees held by Hamas, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

For its part, the American Fox News channel quoted an informed source as saying that the main goal of the meeting is to discuss a ceasefire that will last less than a month.

Haaretz reported that the Mossad chief will remain in the Qatari capital to continue the talks, and explained that the parties concerned are studying the possibility of a meeting of technical teams within days.

For its part, informed sources indicated that the talks are preparing for a larger summit in the coming days to discuss a broader ceasefire that includes Gaza and Lebanon.

The New York Times quoted an Israeli official as saying that the Doha negotiations will test Hamas' decision-making process after the assassination of its political bureau chief, Yahya Sinwar.

The newspaper also said, quoting American and Qatari officials, that it is not clear whether Hamas is ready to return to ceasefire negotiations.

Channel 12 Israel, citing unnamed sources, spoke of “cautious optimism” as the talks entered their second day, but said other sources expressed concern “that despite the dynamics of the negotiations taking place after Sinwar’s assassination, there is in fact no possibility of making real progress as long as there is no flexibility on both sides.”

The channel said, "Even without Sinwar, Hamas continues to insist on its demand to end the war and withdraw completely from the Gaza Strip, while demanding that Israel continue the war and maintain its presence on the Philadelphi Road."

Netanyahu refuses

On the other hand, Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected an Egyptian initiative for a short-term truce with Hamas.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced, in a joint press conference held with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, yesterday, Sunday, that his country had proposed an initiative for a temporary ceasefire, starting with two days, then 10 days, during which negotiations would take place to exchange a number of prisoners from both sides.

Despite the support of the majority of Israeli ministers for the Egyptian proposal, Israel decided to reject it due to Netanyahu's opposition, who stressed that negotiations are only taking place under fire, according to what Channel 12 reported on its website.

With American support, Israel has been waging a genocidal war on Gaza since October 7, 2023, which has left more than 143,500 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that has killed dozens of children and the elderly, in one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.