Israel has canceled a trip planned for this Thursday, the 14th, by the director of the country's intelligence and espionage service Mossad, to Qatar. There, David Barnea would attempt to restart negotiations for a second agreement to release the hostages he was holding Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli broadcaster Channel 13 reported on Wednesday evening 13 that the war cabinet led by the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahua travel ban and that senior Israeli officials would no longer travel to Doha to resume negotiations.
The Mossad reports directly to the prime minister, but Israeli media reported this Thursday that intelligence sources said it had the autonomy to conduct negotiations over the hostages.
Kidnapped two months ago
Around 240 people, from children to octogenarians, were kidnapped during the Hamas attack on communities in southern Israel on October 7. Nearly 100 of them They have already been released under an agreement between both sides of the conflict, but many others remain missing after the collapse of a temporary ceasefire that was part of the pact last month.
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Netanyahu's office believes so There are 135 hostages still in Gaza, 115 of whom are still alive.
Formal negotiations in Doha collapsed earlier this month and have not resumed since. Israel, the United States and Qatar say they continue to seek dialogue with Hamas, which they accuse of not responding to attempts to contact them.
“Indifference and impasse”
The families of some Israeli hostages released a joint statement Thursday expressing outrage at the cancellation of Barnea's trip.
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“We're tired of it Indifference and dead end” the group said in a statement. “The families were shocked by the news of the rejection of the Mossad director's request to work out an agreement to release the hostages. This announcement reinforces the disregard for the parents’ request for a meeting with the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister, which has not yet been granted.”
Joint efforts
Barnea took the lead in the Israeli hostage negotiations, while his American counterpart CIA Director Bill Burnshas done the same for the United States.
According to the American broadcaster CNN, which spoke to a source in Washington familiar with Middle East negotiations, Qatar tried to present Hamas with new ideas for rescuing more hostages from Gaza, including a possible agreement to not only captive women, but also to release women men, which has not yet happened.
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