Israeli negotiators are discussing a ceasefire with Egypt. Netanyahu sacked his security chief

Israel says negotiating teams are discussing the Gaza hostage issue with Egyptian mediators.

The Israeli prime minister's office said in a statement that an Israeli negotiating team met with senior officials in Egypt on Sunday to discuss the hostage issue. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the Israeli delegation a day earlier to continue indirect talks on a cease-fire based on a proposal by U.S. Middle East Envoy Robert Wittkov.

Wittkov's proposal calls for Hamas to immediately release the 11 surviving hostages and hand over half of those who have died.

However, Wittkov told CNN Sunday that his offer is to free five hostages, including U.S. soldier Alexander, in exchange for the release of a large number of Palestinian detainees. "I think it's a very compelling proposal," he said.

Hamas said Friday it had agreed to release Alexander and hand over the remains of the four hostages. According to a Hamas official, the four dead hostages were all Israeli-Americans.

Wittkov said Hamas's response to the proposal was unacceptable and that "the opportunity is rapidly disappearing."

Hamas officials said that in light of Hamas' acceptance of the latest U.S. proposal, the delegation held productive discussions with the Egyptians, focusing on how to move forward with the cease-fire agreement.

The first phase of the truce between Israel and Hamas ended on March 1, and the two sides have yet to agree on moving to the next phase due to deep differences. In the first six-week phase, Hamas released 33 hostages, eight of whom were killed. Israel has released about 1,800 Palestinian detainees.

According to figures provided by both sides, the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023 killed 1,218 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians; Israel's subsequent retaliatory response in Gaza killed at least 48,572 people, most of them civilians.

Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), was accused of failing to stop the Hamas attacks. Netanyahu said in a statement Sunday that he wanted to fire Barr, which was "necessary to restore the organization, achieve all our war goals and prevent the next disaster."

"I have always had a lack of trust in the head of the security agency, and that distrust has deepened over time," Netanyahu said.

Mr. Barr said his dismissal had nothing to do with the Hamas attacks. "The prime minister's expectation of personal loyalty contradicts the public interest, and such an expectation is wholly inappropriate," he said in a statement.