Israel and Hamas Hostage and ceasefire deal very close, Top Israeli security delegation in Doha for Gaza talks

Top Israeli security delegation in Doha for Gaza talks

By Maayan Lubell

JERUSALEM, Jan 12 (Reuters) – A top level Israeli security delegation arrived in Qatar on Sunday for talks on a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, in a possible sign of so-far elusive agreements nearing.

Qatar and fellow mediators Egypt and the United States are making renewed efforts to reach a deal to halt the fighting in the enclave and free the remaining 98 hostages held there before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday that the delegation includes Mossad Head David Barnea, the head of the Shin Bet domestic security service Ronen Bar and the military’s head of the hostage brief, Nitzan Alon.

Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, met on Saturday with Netanyahu, after having met on Friday with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

Israeli and Palestinian officials have said since Thursday that some progress has been made in the indirect talks between Israel and militant group Hamas but did not elaborate. The sides have been keeping a tight lid on the details being worked out.

It is unclear how they will bridge one of the biggest gaps that has persisted throughout previous rounds of talks: Hamas demands an end to the war while Israel says it won’t end the war as long as Hamas rules Gaza and poses a threat to Israelis.

Israel launched its assault in Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed across its borders in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, with much of the enclave laid to waste and gripped by a humanitarian crisis, and most of its population displaced.

Biden calls for immediate ceasefire in call with Netanyahu, White House says

By Andrea Shalal

US national security adviser says parties very close to deal
Biden calls surge in humanitarian aid to Gaza
Netanyahu thanked Biden for lifelong support of Israel, White House says

WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House said, as U.S. officials race to reach a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal before Biden leaves office on Jan. 20.

Biden and Netanyahu discussed efforts underway to reach a deal to halt the fighting in the Palestinian enclave and free the remaining hostages there, the White House said in a statement after the two leaders spoke by telephone.

Biden “stressed the immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and return of the hostages with a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by a stoppage in the fighting under the deal,” it said.

Netanyahu updated Biden on progress in the talks and on the mandate he has given his top-level security delegation now in Doha in order to advance a hostage deal, Netanyahu said in a statement.

The two leaders also discussed “the fundamentally changed regional circumstances following the ceasefire deal in Lebanon, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and the weakening of Iran’s power in the region,” the White House said.

Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s “State of the Union” program earlier on Sunday that the parties were “very, very close” to reaching a deal, but still had to get it across the finish line.

He said Biden was getting daily updates on the talks in Doha, where Israeli and Palestinian officials have said since Thursday that some progress has been made in the indirect talks between Israel and militant group Hamas.

“We are still determined to use every day we have in office to get this done,” Sullivan said, “and we are not, by any stretch of imagination, setting this aside.”

He said there was still a chance to reach an agreement before Biden leaves office, but that it was also possible “Hamas, in particular, remains intransigent.”

During their call, Netanyahu also thanked Biden for his lifelong support of Israel and “the extraordinary support from the United States for Israel’s security and national defense,” the White House said.

Israel launched its assault in Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed across its borders in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, with much of the enclave laid to waste and gripped by a humanitarian crisis, and most of its population displaced.

Vice President-elect JD Vance told the “Fox News Sunday” program in an interview taped on Saturday that he expects a deal for the release of U.S. hostages in the Middle East to be announced in the final days of the Biden administration, maybe in the last day or two.

President-elect Donald Trump, a staunch supporter of Israel, has strongly backed Netanyahu’s goal of destroying Hamas. He has promised to bring peace to the Middle East, but has not said how he would accomplish that.