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DOHA: US and Israeli negotiators will gather in
Doha
in the coming days to try to restart talks toward a deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza, officials said on Thursday.
Qatar
and
Egypt
have acted as mediators between Israel and
Hamas
in months of talks that broke down in Aug without an agreement to end fighting that began when the Palestinian militant group launched attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
David Barnea, the head of its
Mossad
intelligence agency, would travel to Doha on Sunday, said PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, adding that CIA director William Burns would be present for the talks. Separately, an Egyptian security delegation met with a Hamas delegation in Cairo as part of efforts to resume
ceasefire negotiations
Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV said, citing an unnamed official source.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken travelled to West Asia this week hoping to revive the talks following the death of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, who Washington says was the main obstacle to a deal. “We talked about options to capitalise on this moment and next steps to move the process forward,” Blinken told reporters after talks with Qatar PM and foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. “I anticipate that our negotiators will be getting together in the coming days.”
Blinken said it had not yet been determined whether Hamas was prepared to engage in new negotiations, but urged the group to do so.
