The negotiations on a ceasefire in the Gaza War will resume next week, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's staff. The announcement comes after an Israeli negotiating delegation, led by Mossad chief David Barnea, returned to Israel from Qatar on Friday.
"We agreed that next week, Israeli negotiators will travel to Doha to continue the talks. There is still a gap between the parties," says a spokesperson for Netanyahu's staff in a statement.
The US, together with Qatar and Egypt, has tried to reach an agreement and has emphasized the importance of Netanyahu's decision to send a delegation to Qatar. The US believes that Israel and Hamas have a "pretty significant opportunity" to reach an agreement, according to a high-ranking American official.
There has been no ceasefire in the nine-month-long war in Gaza, only a one-week pause in November when 80 Israeli hostages were exchanged for 240 imprisoned Palestinians in Israel.
