CIA Director William Burns was also reportedly in Doha last week to address the remaining obstacles between Hamas and Israel in securing a ceasefire and a captives release deal.

Israel’s negotiators have returned from Qatar on Tuesday for “internal consultations” following a week of talks, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in a statement.

“The negotiating team, which includes senior personnel[…]will return this evening from Qatar to Israel following a week of significant negotiations. The team has returned for internal consultations in Israel regarding the continuation of the negotiations for the return of our hostages,” the statement said.

The statement confirmed last’s week’s reports over the visit of a technical Israeli delegation to Doha in another attempt to reach a captives’ release deal, despite continuing the genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas, in a statement on Wednesday, said that the negotiations “are proceeding seriously in Doha” and that it “has shown responsibility and flexibility”. 

Despite this, Israel has kept adding new conditions related to the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, ceasefire and exchange of the Palestinian prisoners and Israeli captives, Hamas explained.

Israel says at least 96 captives remain in the Gaza Strip, including the bodies of 34.

CIA Director William Burns was also reportedly in Doha last week to address the remaining obstacles between Hamas and Israel in securing a ceasefire and a captives release deal.

The reports signalled a possible momentum in the negotiations after more than a year of stalemate under Israel’s insistence on continuing the brutal war in the Gaza Strip while maintaining its military presence.

The outgoing Biden administration has been scrambling for a deal before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20. Trump had repeatedly threatened that “all hell is going to break out” if a deal is not reached by the time of his inauguration. 

Qatar, alongside Egypt, has been a central mediator between Hamas and Israel since the onset of Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip. 

Mediation efforts stalled since the expiration of a week-long truce deal on December 1, 2023, fueling regional tensions including in neighbouring Lebanon.

On Tuesday, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari told a weekly press briefing that the negotiations are ongoing “with technical talks taking place in Doha and other tracks occurring in Cairo”.

He noted “that no one can predict a specific timeline for reaching an agreement”.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed more than 45,338 Palestinian while creating a devastating humanitarian crisis. The figure shared by Palestine’s health ministry is an undercount of the actual death toll with thousands still trapped under the rubble.