At the conclusion of a situational assessment held by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the issue of hostages, Netanyahu instructed Mossad Chief David Barnea, Shin Bet Chief, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon and Diplomatic Adviser Ophir Falk to travel to Doha to continue advancing a hostage deal.
The decision to send the delegation is due to progress and new developments in the negotiation talks in Doha, an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post.
“If there wasn’t real progress, Netanyahu wouldn’t have decided to send a delegation to Doha for the hostage deal talks,” the official said.
The decision came after a meeting between the prime minister and President-elect Donald Trump's envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff. An Israeli official said that after the meeting, there was a conference call between Netanyahu, Witkoff, and Biden's senior advisor, Brett Mcgurk, who is in Qatar. "The two administrations, Biden's and Trump, are working closely together."
The source said that "there is progress, things are developing –, but there is still work to do, and gaps still remain."
Defense Minister Israel Katz, senior security officials, and negotiators representing both the outgoing and incoming US administrations attended the meeting.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum stated that they welcomed the decision to send Barnea, Alon, and Falk to Qatar.
"We call on the delegation: This is a historic opportunity to secure the release of all our loved ones."
How will the stages of the deal be implemented?
The first stage of the deal talks about a partial withdrawal from the corridor and a reduction in Israeli forces in the area. The second stage will see the IDF still remaining at a number of inspection posts along the corridor, and on the last day of the deal's third stage, there will be a complete withdrawal of the IDF from the corridor, according to the report.
On the table of the negotiations is Israel completely withdrawing from the Philadelphi Corridor on the last day of implementing the stages of the deal, KAN reported, citing Arabic media.