Israel sending delegation to Qatar to talk possible Gaza hostage and cease-fire deal

Israel has decided to send a delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and cease-fire deal, an Israeli official said, reviving hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations to end the almost 21-month war.

Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday it had responded to a U.S.-backed Gaza cease-fire proposal in a “positive spirit”, a few days after U.S. President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed “to the necessary conditions to finalise” a 60-day truce.

The Israeli negotiation delegation will fly to Qatar on Sunday, the Israeli official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters.

But in a sign of the potential challenges still facing the two sides, a Palestinian official from a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing in southern Israel to Egypt and clarity over a timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, has yet to comment on Trump’s announcement, and in their public statements Hamas and Israel remain far apart.

Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the militant group, which is thought to be holding 20 living hostages, has so far refused to discuss.

Israeli media said on Friday that Israel had received and was reviewing Hamas’ response to the cease-fire proposal.

The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Gaza’s health ministry says Israel’s retaliatory military assault on the enclave has killed over 57,000 Palestinians.

It has also caused a hunger crisis, displaced Gaza’s entire population internally and prompted accusations of genocide and war crimes. Israel denies the accusations.