Israeli negotiators were to depart for Cairo Thursday evening for further mediated deliberations on a hostage-for-ceasefire deal with Hamas, the Prime Minister’s Office said, after talks in Doha Wednesday.

The delegation will be headed by Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and will include IDF representatives.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office also said the premier met with his negotiating team in the morning after its return from Qatar last night. In Doha, the team headed by Mossad Director David Barnea discussed with the heads of the American, Qatari, and Egyptian teams “the parts of the deal dealing with the return of the hostages and the ways to implement the proposal.”

Netanyahu’s office stressed that conversations only examined ways to bring the hostages home while “ensuring that all the war aims” are achieved.

The cabinet was expected to meet on Thursday evening to further discuss the negotiations.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Thursday there was “progress” in the talks.

“We see the possibility that a deal will be reached, but we can’t know that for sure,” he added. “We think that all remaining issues can be resolved and should be resolved. The signs are more positive today than they have been in recent months.”

Meanwhile, Hamas said in a statement on Thursday that mediators had not yet provided the group any updates regarding Gaza ceasefire negotiations.

It also said that Israel continues to “stall” to gain time and thwart the current round of ceasefire talks.

The Israeli-drafted outline for a hostage deal and truce in Gaza proposed a phased deal that would include a “full and complete” six-week ceasefire that would see the release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly, and the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners.

During these 42 days, Israeli forces would also withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza and allow the return of displaced people to their homes in northern Gaza.

Over that period, Hamas, Israel, and mediators would also negotiate the terms of the second phase that could see the release of the remaining male hostages, both civilians and soldiers. In return, Israel would free additional Palestinian security prisoners and detainees. The third phase would see the return of any remaining hostages, including bodies of dead captives, and the start of a years-long reconstruction project.

The sides have been reported to differ on core aspects of the transition from the halt in fighting in the first stage to a potential permanent ceasefire. Israel is demanding “an exit point” between the two stages, in line with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence that the war will not end until Hamas is destroyed. Hamas, by contrast, wants the initial ceasefire maintained for as long as is needed until negotiations are finalized on a permanent ceasefire and end to the war, which Jerusalem says could enable Hamas to drag out the talks indefinitely.

Negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US have so far failed to secure a truce in Gaza and release of captives there, since a weeklong ceasefire in November saw Hamas free 105 hostages in return for 240 Palestinian prisoners.

However, talks progressed after Hamas recently said it dropped its demand that the framework include an upfront commitment from Israel to end the war during the first phase — though the terror group is still demanding a commitment to that effect from mediators.

It is believed that 116 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza though not all of them are alive. Aside from the 105 hostages released in November, four were released prior to that, and seven hostages have been rescued by troops alive. The bodies of 19 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military.

The IDF has confirmed the deaths of 42 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.

Hamas has also been holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.