Israel's spy chiefs will attend talks in Doha on Thursday seeking a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal after more than 10 months of war, the prime minister's office said on Wednesday, August 14.
US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have invited Israel and Hamas for negotiations aimed at ending fighting that the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip says has claimed nearly 40,000 lives in the Palestinian territory.
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved the departure of the Israeli delegation to Doha tomorrow, as well as the mandate for conducting the negotiations," a statement said.
The head of Israel's Mossad spy agency, David Barnea, and Shin Bet security service chief Ronen Bar are part of the team, Netanyahu's spokesman Omer Dostri told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"The head of the Mossad, the head of the Shin Bet, Nitzan Alon and Ophir Falk" make up the team, Dostri said. Alon coordinates issues related to hostages, and Falk is a political adviser to Netanyahu. On Tuesday, Netanyahu's office detailed Israel's conditions for a truce including "a veto on certain prisoners" being released from its jails.
It remained unclear if Hamas – whose October 7 attack on Israel triggered the war – planned to participate. A Hamas official said the Islamist movement was "continuing its consultations with the mediators," after demanding the implementation of a three-phase proposal that US President Joe Biden laid out on May 31, instead of holding more talks.