Israel's war cabinet has sent Mossad chief David Barnea to Qatar to negotiate indirectly with the terrorist organization Hamas. The Israeli security cabinet approved the departure of a delegation led by Barneas to the Gulf state late on Sunday evening.
In the capital Doha, mediators Qatar, Egypt and the USA are trying to advance the recently stalled talks on a temporary ceasefire and an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. Hamas recently presented a new proposal to mediators. According to the proposal, the Islamists would make a more than just temporary cessation of hostages by Israel a prerequisite for a second phase of hostage releases.