Israel's Netanyahu Sends Mossad Director to Gaza Ceasefire Talks in Qatar

By Associated Press

Published 3 months ago on

January 11, 2025

Netanyahu sends Mossad chief to Qatar for Gaza ceasefire talks, signaling potential progress in negotiations. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Netanyahu approves sending Mossad director to Qatar for ceasefire talks, signaling potential progress.
Families of hostages press for a deal as recovery of two bodies renews urgency in negotiations.
U.S. officials express optimism about a deal, but similar statements have been made throughout the year.

NAHARIYA, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved sending the director of the Mossad foreign intelligence agency to ceasefire negotiations in Qatar in a sign of progress in talks on the war in Gaza.

Netanyahu’s office announced the decision Saturday. It was not immediately clear when David Barnea would travel to Qatar’s capital, Doha, site of the latest round of indirect talks between Israel and the Hamas militant group. His presence means high-level Israeli officials who would need to sign off on any agreement are now involved.

Just one brief ceasefire has been achieved in 15 months of war, and that occurred in the earliest weeks of fighting. The talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar have repeatedly stalled since then.

Netanyahu’s Stance and Gaza’s Toll

Netanyahu has insisted on destroying Hamas’ ability to fight in Gaza. Hamas has insisted on a full Israeli troop withdrawal from the largely devastated territory. On Thursday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said over 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war.

Also being sent to Qatar are the head of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency and military and political advisers. Netanyahu’s office said the decision followed a meeting with his defense minister, security chiefs and negotiators “on behalf of the outgoing and incoming U.S. administrations.”

The office also released a photo showing Netanyahu with President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who was in Qatar this week.

Hostage Situation and Pressure for a Deal

Families of the roughly 100 hostages still held in Gaza after being seized in the Oct. 7, 2023 militant attack that sparked the war are pressing Netanyahu to reach a deal to bring their loved ones home.

The recovery of two hostages’ bodies in the past week renewed fears that time is running out. Hamas has said that after months of heavy fighting, it isn’t sure who is alive or dead.

Israel and Hamas are under pressure from outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden and Trump to reach a deal before the Jan. 20 inauguration.

U.S. Involvement and Ongoing Negotiations

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week a deal is “very close” and he hoped to complete it before handing over diplomacy to the incoming Trump administration. But U.S. officials have expressed similar optimism on several occasions over the past year.

Issues in the talks have included which hostages would be released in the first part of a phased ceasefire deal, which Palestinian prisoners would be released and the extent of any Israeli troop withdrawal from population centers in Gaza.

Hamas and other groups killed some 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages into Gaza in the attack that started the war. A truce in November 2023 freed more than 100 hostages, while others have been rescued or their remains have been recovered over the past year.