Amid cautious optimism, Israeli negotiators leave for Doha for Gaza peace talks: Report

A delegation of Israeli negotiators has departed for Doha to take part in Qatar-mediated peace talks, according to a report.

Following the outbreak of Israel-Hamas War with the Hamas-led October 7 attack, Qatar and Egypt have been mediating between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and releases of hostages held by Hamas-led coalition of Palestinian groups. The talks are being facilitated by the United States.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Friday (January 3) that the delegation had left for Qatar after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approval.

The outlet further reported that a delegation from Hamas is also expected to be in Doha for talks.

The news of Israeli delegation going to Doha comes amid conflicting reports in recent days. In recent days, talks appeared to have reached an impasse when it emerged that Hamas was only willing to release 22 hostages instead of 34 in the first phase of deal being negotiated. The Hamas had further refused to provide the list of hostages that Israel had been requested.

Despite such reports of impasse, officials of Israel and Hamas expressed optimism on Thursday. Around the same time, Netanyahu said he had approved negotiators’ visit to Doha. It is not known publicly what changed that led to Netanyahu to send negotiators to Doha and Hamas officials to sound optimistic.

Is Israel-Hamas deal in offing before January 20?

An Israeli official told Channel 12 on Thursday that Netanyahu cleared the negotiators’ visit after there was “progress in recent days.”

For several weeks, all sides have appeared to be pushing for a deal between Israel and Hamas to be reached before January 20 — the day US President-elect Donald Trump will assume office.

The signing of the deal before Jan. 20 would allow Trump to govern without the baggage of the Israel-Hamas conflict, outgoing President Joe Biden to claim a victory, and also give breathing space to Netanyahu who is under intense domestic pressure over the failure to get hostages released.

Separately, senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk told the Qatari newspaper al-Araby al-Jadeed on Thursday that “there is a good chance that negotiations will succeed this time”.

Separately, Jihad Taha, another Hamas official, told the newspaper that a Hamas delegation had met Egyptian, Qatari, and Turkish mediators in Cairo “in order to overcome the obstacles and conditions put recently by the Israeli side with the goal to continue the aggression against our people” and that “Hamas is dealing positively and openly with all the issues”.

The newspaper further reported that talks in Cairo revolved around postponing negotiations on most contentious points until after the first phase of the deal has been implemented.

When the Israeli delegations arrives in Doha, the newspaper reported that a Hamas-endorsed proposal would be submitted to the delegation. The newspaper said the idea driving the move is to secure a deal before Trump assumes office.

Even though Hamas has refused to provide the list of living hostages as long as the war continues, Kan News has said that Hamas has said there should be a seven-day ceasefire during which it would compile the list of hostages it can later release.