The discussion took place in Qatar’s capital Doha on Monday in the backdrop of an indirect back-and-forth between Biden and Netanyahu, according to Israeli Media.
Israeli intelligence chief David Barnea has met with Qatar’s prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to discuss attempts to strike a hostage deal, according to Israeli media.
This comes after a senior Biden administration official confirmed that the U.S. has been holding talks with mediators Qatar and Egypt about a final ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza which it plans to unveil “in the coming weeks.”
U.S President Joe Biden told reporters outside the White House that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “not doing enough” to finalise a ceasefire deal. Biden also commented that his government was “very close” to presenting its final hostage deal.
In response, Netanyahu said that “no one is more committed to freeing the hostages than me….no one will preach to me on this issue,” while addressing the public following mass demonstrations in Tel Aviv after six Israeli captives were found dead in Rafah on Sunday.
Netanyahu also pushed to maintain Israeli control of the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow band bordering Egypt on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip.
Per Netanyahu, this was crucial to any ceasefire agreement as he claimed Hamas uses the corridor to smuggle arms into Gaza. “Hamas insists for that reason that we not be there, and for that reason, I insist that we be there,” said the Israeli PM.
Two rounds of negotiations have played out in Doha and Cairo last month as parties scramble to reach a deal following months of stalemate.
Hamas negotiator says no breakthrough in Gaza ceasefire talks
Senior Hamas member Khalil Al-Hayya commented on the latest updates in negotiations in an interview with Al Jazeera on Sunday.
Al-Hayya stated that Hamas had asked mediators on Thursday for the latest outcomes of the talks. In response, the mediators stated that no agreement had been reached.
According to Al-Hayya, mediating parties also requested that Israel should “develop solutions to all the disputed issues” following Netanyahu’s new conditions.
Al-Hayya also claimed that the six Israeli captives found in Rafah were killed by the occupation forces.
The senior Hamas official said that the Palestinian resistance group was planning to release 23-year-old Israeli American captive, Hersh Goldberg-Polin following “the intervention of many people through the Qatari” side.
“We responded with humanitarian and political dimensions, to push towards progress towards concluding a real deal. We delivered to the Qatari brothers a video of this young man speaking to his mother and father,” Al-Hayya said.
