Talks between international mediators were “constructive,’ said US National Security Council Communications Director John Kirby. Israeli negotiators negotiating the release of the hostages would be given expanded powers.
The last ceasefire talks collapsed two weeks ago when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed as "delusional" a Hamas proposal for a four-and-a-half-month ceasefire that would end with an Israeli withdrawal. The head of the Israeli secret service Mossad would also be at the meeting, according to reports.