Mossad Director David Barnea told relatives of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in a recent meeting that the prospects for an agreement with the terrorist group are low, Channel 12 reported on Monday.
During the meeting, a family member asked Barnea about the status of talks, to which he replied: “We still haven’t received a response from the intermediaries regarding either the Qatari or Egyptian proposals, so it’s best to wait. At the moment, the chances for a small-scale deal are low; Hamas insists on stopping the war.”
The family member asked about the situation in Gaza, to which Barnea responded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not given negotiators a mandate to move forward with a comprehensive deal that would end the war.
An end to the ongoing Israeli military operation in Gaza does not appear to be on the horizon, with Ynet reporting on Sunday that raids to clear Hamas terrorists from northern Gaza could take at least another six months, according to IDF officials.
On Sunday, Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu had held a closed-door consultation on the status of the negotiations with senior security officials and ministers at the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem.
“In the meeting, an update was provided on the state of negotiations for a deal. The political echelon was informed that after another round of talks, Hamas had not yet given an official response to the Qatari proposal,” according to the report.
“However, the understanding in Israel is that Hamas is not prepared to relinquish its prior demands from July 2, including a commitment by Israel to halt fighting and a complete withdrawal of the IDF [from Gaza], even after the era of [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar.” Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces in southern Gaza on Oct. 16.
The proposal from Doha last week reportedly involved the release of 11 hostages in exchange for a one-month ceasefire, with priority given to living female captives. Qatar also clarified that there had been progress in the talks.
Fifty-one out of the 101 hostages still being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip are alive, according to the latest Israeli intelligence assessments.
