Mossad head Dedi Barnea, CIA chief William Burns, the head of the Egyptian intelligence Abbas Kamel, and the Prime Minister of Qatar Mohammed al-Thani, will meet on Wednesday in Doha to advance the outline of the hostage deal that is currently on the table. In the meantime, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a situation assessment with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday evening regarding the negotiations to advance a deal.
The meeting follows a day of mutual criticism between Gallant and Netanyahu over war-related issues. Netanyahu claimed that Gallant's demand for broad consensus on the conscription law effectively gave the opposition "veto power," allowing them to block the conscription of ultra-Orthodox men to "bring down the government, which would halt the release of hostages and lead to defeat in the war."
Gallant, on the other hand, argued that "this is a sensitive time. We need to make a deal to bring back the hostages – the political attempt to link the release of hostages with exemption from conscription for Haredim is dangerous and irresponsible."
A series of public, non-public and highly secretive developments over the past weeks – and particularly in the last days of the previous week – have led to some positive progress in the negotiations for a hostage deal with Hamas. There is cautious optimism that a window has opened to conclude this deal, covering all hostages, both living and dead.
Meanwhile, Hamas continues to insist on the same point it has held since the previous cease-fire collapsed on November 29: the release of all hostages in exchange for a permanent cease-fire, an end to the state of war, IDF withdrawal from Gaza and international guarantees that Yahya Sinwar will not face retaliation upon emerging from hiding.
Israel, too, remains steadfast, but in the opposite direction: Hamas wants the initial temporary cease-fire to lead to a permanent one, while Israel aims to retain the ability to resume fighting after the first cease-fire or at the point where negotiations for the second deal break down.
Meanwhile, Mossad Chief Dedi Barnea, CIA Director William Burns, Egyptian Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel, and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani will meet this Wednesday in Doha to advance the framework of the pending hostage deal.