The Israeli prime minister has postponed his return to Israel until Saturday, delaying a delegation that was slated for Doha this week.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will send a delegation to Doha this week for talks on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, his office said on Tuesday.
“Israel is preparing for the working-level delegation to leave for Doha at the end of this week in order to discuss technical details related to the continued implementation of the agreement,” the office said in a statement.
Netanyahu is currently in the United States where he will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump later today.
The meeting will focus on the release of Israeli captives held by Hamas, as well as on Iran in the context of Israel’s security in the region.
Netanyahu would be the first foreign leader to visit the White House since Trump’s return to office.
The Israeli prime minister has already met with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, where they discussed the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire and the captives-prisoner exchange deal.
The Israeli delegation scheduled to travel to Qatar was set to discuss the second phase of the deal following the commencement of the first phase on January 19.
By the deal’s terms, talks on the second phase must start on the 16th day of the first phase, which will be on Wednesday, February 5.
This stage entails the return of all remaining captives in Gaza in exchange for a number of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons, as well as Israel’s full withdrawal from the besieged territory.
The prime minister’s office confirmed that Israel would send a mid-level team to Doha this weekend to discuss “technical details related to continuing to carry out” the deal.
Netanyahu has postponed his return to Israel until Saturday, according to a reporter from Axios, who said that the official would be out of the country when the next group of Israeli captives will be released by Hamas.
According to Israeli media reports, an unnamed senior Israeli official said that “nothing significant” will happen regarding the second phase of the ceasefire talks before Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump.
Netanyahu “wants to wait until his meeting with Trump to gauge his stance on the second phase of the deal and whether he can reach understandings with him,” the official said.
So far, 583 Palestinian prisoners have been released from Israeli jails over four separate exchanges, some of which have been exiled to Egypt. Qatar has expressed it would be open to hosting them upon their choice.
‘Counting on Trump’
In an exclusive phone call with far-right news network Breitbart, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said that Doha is relying on Trump to move the ceasefire to its second phase.
“We are counting on President Trump and the administration to give the clear message that they are behind the negotiation process, and they are behind phase two and that they will support this process throughout the peacemaking,” Al-Ansari said on Monday.
Israel is supposed to send a delegation to Doha on Wednesday, marking the 16th day of the first phase of the ceasefire.
“We are in contact with both sides to make sure they remain committed to that,” Al-Ansari said.
“We hope that upon returning to Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu will immediately dispatch his negotiation team to Doha to begin the phase two talks with Steve Witkoff and the negotiations continue,” he added.