Israeli delegation with 'limited mandate' heads to Doha for Gaza truce talks

Reuters quoted a source familiar with the talks on the truce in Gaza and the prisoner exchange, on Monday evening, as saying that an Israeli technical team is in Doha to hold talks with Qatari mediators on the "remaining issues" in an agreement to cease fire in Gaza and release detainees in the Strip.

The official said that the talks are currently focused on bridging the gaps between Israel and Hamas regarding the agreement proposed by US President Joe Biden on May 31.

For its part, Agence France-Presse reported, quoting a source familiar with the talks, that the meetings are taking place "between two working groups from Israel and Qatar."

The source explained that the meetings come in the wake of a visit by the head of the Israeli intelligence agency (Mossad), David Barnea, to Doha last Wednesday, although there is no indication that Barnea attended the current meetings.

In the context, the official Israeli Broadcasting Authority said on Monday evening that an Israeli delegation traveled to Qatar "with a limited mandate" amid negotiations described as "very advanced with Hamas" to push for a prisoner exchange deal, according to what was reported by "Anadolu".

The agency quoted an unnamed Israeli official as claiming that Tel Aviv "is working to reach a deal to release the kidnapped (detainees) during this month, but it may come into effect before January 20, 2025, the date on which US President-elect Donald Trump enters the White House."

According to the Broadcasting Authority, "Despite the ongoing disagreements, they in Israel still say that tangible progress has been made with Hamas and the mediators, and that very advanced talks are taking place."

"An Israeli delegation has left for Qatar," it said, but quoted an unnamed Israeli official as saying the delegation "traveled with limited authorization." As of 20:30 (GMT), Doha and Tel Aviv have not issued any official comment on the Israeli delegation's visit.

Qatar, along with the United States and Egypt, has been mediating for months in negotiations aimed at reaching a truce in Gaza and releasing detainees in the Strip and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons.

But with the exception of a week-long truce late last year during which dozens of detainees were released from Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, successive rounds of negotiations have failed to stop the war.

US President-elect Donald Trump said earlier on Monday that he had a "very good conversation" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the status of the war on Gaza. Trump described the conversation as a "brief phone call."

"We had a very good conversation... We discussed what's going to happen," he said at a news conference. Trump said it "wouldn't be nice if the hostages held by Hamas weren't released before I take office" on January 20.

Source: Agencies