David Barnea is the current director of the Mossad, Israel's primary foreign intelligence agency.
Netanyahu and top security officials trade blame and credit over the latest hostage deal, as tensions rise over the October 7 probe and shifts in the negotiation team.
Ron Dermer is known for his deep personal and political alignment with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior members of US President Donald Trump's administration.
Barnea is still running that process to ensure the receipt of each hostage from Hamas as part of Phase I of the January 19 – March 1 deal.
To all the hostages who hear me now, know that the fight is ongoing, and we are not giving up on you," Aloni said.
Hamas will likely comply because it has an interest that Israel will withdraw its forces from the Netazrim corridor, an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post.
Barnea has made no fully public comments and endeavored to stay in the shadows.
During high-level discussions within Israel’s political and security leadership, the Mossad chief reportedly called for a direct strike on Iran following Houthi attacks.
The meeting is the second between the Mossad chief and al-Thani, following their meeting in Vienna in late November.
The proposed deal would see Hamas releasing eight hostages in exchange for dozens of Palestinian prisoners.
The talks marked the first high-level discussion on a hostage deal that has been held since Hamas executed six of the captives, including Israeli-US citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
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