Israel has confirmed it will send a delegation to resume ceasefire negotiations in Qatar, with representatives from the Mossad intelligence agency and the military. This decision follows nearly a year of stalled efforts by American, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators to broker a ceasefire and a hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.
The discussions, which have faced repeated setbacks, aim to end the ongoing conflict, which began with a Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel on October 7, 2023. This attack resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and 250 hostages taken to Gaza. Although around 100 individuals remain captive, Israeli officials believe that a third of them may already be dead.
Fierce fighting has devastated Gaza, with the Hamas-run health ministry reporting over 45,500 Palestinian deaths, though it does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
No immediate comments have been made by Hamas on this latest attempt to negotiate a ceasefire, and Qatar had suspended its mediation efforts last year due to frustration with the lack of progress.
