Negotiations are underway to conclude a new deal between Hamas and Israel regarding a truce in Gaza Strip and the exchange of hostages and prisoners between both sides, according to media reports.
The Axios website reported that the director of the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad, David Barnea, is in a European country with the Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, to discuss a second truce that will lead to an exchange deal.
The website of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz also reported on the meeting, and in the meantime, Reuters revealed that Barnea returned to Israel early Sunday morning to submit a statement to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel hinted at new ongoing negotiations to recover the remaining hostages held by Hamas, which follows after Israeli forces accidentally killed three hostages who fled from their captors in Gaza.
Netanyahu evades answers
Netanyahu indicated on Saturday that new negotiations are underway.
However during a press conference, Netanyahu evaded answering a question about the meeting between Barnea and the Qatari Prime Minister.
He said: “We have strong criticism of Qatar, and I think you will hear about it in time, but we are now trying to complete the recovery of our hostages.”
Netanyahu added that he would not reveal the details of the talks, explaining: “There is one mistake that we can make, which is to relay our calculations to Hamas, to the world,” he said.
“We shall not be getting into the details of the negotiations.”
A new approach
Israeli media also reported that the War Cabinet is set to discuss a new approach for a deal aimed at returning hostages from the Gaza Strip.
According to media reports, Israel is looking to strengthen its efforts to reach another agreement with Hamas, despite warnings from Israeli officials that the path to a new agreement is far away and not clear.
Israel is seeking to conclude a new exchange deal with Hamas as a result of increasing internal pressure on the Israeli Prime Minister, especially from the families of hostages held by Hamas, to release the rest of them in the Gaza Strip.
The Hamas movement stipulated on Sunday evening, that negotiations on the exchange of prisoners must begin with the cessation of aggression against the Palestinians once and for all.
The movement has communicated this position to all mediators.
