Israeli prime minister to send delegation to Doha for hostage swap talks, according to premier's office
Israeli families of hostages held in Gaza have called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to provide a "full mandate" to the negotiating team handling the hostage exchange deal with Palestinian factions in Gaza following his approval to send a delegation to Doha to resume negotiations.
Netanyahu's office issued a statement late Thursday, confirming that "the prime minister has agreed to send a professional-level delegation to continue negotiations in Doha."
In response, families of Israeli hostages expressed their support for Netanyahu's decision to send the delegation to Qatar.
In a post on X, they said: "We must not miss this opportunity."
The families added: "The one hundred hostages held deep in Hamas tunnels in Gaza do not have the luxury of time for the negotiations to falter."
“We demand that the Prime Minister grant the negotiating team full authority to reach an agreement that guarantees the return of all hostages,” they also said.
Meanwhile, the official Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation quoted an anonymous source late Thursday, stating that the Israeli delegation would present a "new proposal" during the negotiations to resolve the dispute over the list of living hostages that Tel Aviv demands from Hamas before moving forward with talks.
The source did not provide details of the new proposal but noted that it "may be discussed between the two sides in the next round of talks."
Efforts led by the US, Egypt, and Qatar for a permanent cease-fire have so far failed, mainly due to Netanyahu's refusal to halt the war.
The Israeli army has continued a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed more than 45,500 victims, mostly women and children, since a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.
