Israeli spy chief visits Doha for Gaza talks
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Mossad Director David Barnea in 2023. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP via Getty
The director of Israel's Mossad spy agency David Barnea visited Qatar on Thursday and met Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani for talks on the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, according to two sources familiar with the visit.
Why it matters: These are the most high-level talks between Israel and the mediators since negotiations broke down three weeks ago. They come amid a renewed push for a comprehensive deal to end the war, release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas, and avert a looming Israeli offensive.
- The U.S., Qatar, Egypt and Turkey are all involved in the efforts to draft a comprehensive deal.
Behind the scenes: Barnea stressed in his meetings that the Israeli cabinet's decision to occupy Gaza City is not a bluff or psychological warfare, and Israel is prepared to carry it out if there is no progress in the hostage negotiations soon, a source familiar with the meeting said.
Driving the news: The four mediators want to try to use the remaining time before Israel launches the operation to reach a deal to end the war.
- Last week, the Qatari prime minister and White House envoy Steve Witkoff met in Ibiza to discuss the path forward.
- Witkoff has made it clear to the Qatari and Egyptian mediators that President Trump is not interested in "piecemeal deals" anymore and wants all the hostages freed and the war to end.
- Trump told Axios earlier this week that he doesn't think Hamas will release the hostages under the current circumstances, but stopped short of directly endorsing Israel's plans to attack and occupy Gaza City.
State of play: A Hamas delegation visited Istanbul over the weekend and met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan for talks on the war in Gaza.
- According to sources familiar with the matter, Fidan told the senior Hamas officials they should return to negotiations and reach a deal to end the war.
- The Hamas officials then traveled from Istanbul to Cairo earlier this week. On Wednesday, they met Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad and discussed ways to resume the negotiations.
