On Thursday, negotiations to release hostages in Gaza began in Doha with Hamas holding back their delegation from the talks.
Mossad chief David Barnea and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar with IDF Maj lead the Israeli delegation. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon and senior Netanyahu adviser Ophir Falk.
According to some sources, CIA Director William Burns was also scheduled to participate in the talks.
Before leaving for Israel, the delegates met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and sources indicated they were given “minimal wiggling room” and “reasonable leeway” to negotiate.
Hamas withheld its delegation, claiming they had little faith in the US to broker the deal and they wanted to prevent Israel from making additional demands.
“Going to new negotiations allows the occupation to impose new conditions and employ the maze of negotiation to conduct more massacres,” Hamas official Abu Zuhri told Reuters.
Instead, Hamas insists claims they would be ready to accept the hostage and ceasefire deal set out by US President Joe Biden on July 2.
