Israel sent an updated proposal regarding a possible hostage deal to the United States, Walla reported Saturday evening, citing an Israeli senior official and two other sources who are privy to the details.
The proposal includes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new demands, particularly the establishment of an oversight mechanism that will prevent the transfer of weapons from southern Gaza to northern Gaza.Senior officials in the negotiating team and the security establishment believe that Hamas will not accept this condition and that this will lead to a crisis in the negotiations.
The head of the Mossad, David Barnea, the head of the CIA, William Burns, Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdel Rahman Al Thani, and Egyptian Intelligence Chief Major General Abbas Kamel, are expected to meet in Rome on Sunday to discuss the updated Israeli proposal.
Netanyahu announced delegation to Rome
Netanyahu announced the negotiation delegation on Friday during his meeting with US presidential candidate Donald Trump. During the announcement, when Netanyahu was asked if a deal was close to being finalized, he responded, "I hope so. Time will tell. We are certainly eager to have one. We are working on it.”
He explained that the progress that exists is due to the military pressure being exerted on Hamas.
Netanyahu wanted to ensure that the Israeli and US positions were aligned and that there were no gaps between them. Israel believes that a united front with the US is important to get Hamas to agree to the three-phase deal, originally proposed by US President Joe Biden in May.