Netanyahu sent senior officials to Qatar for Gaza hostage talks

The Israeli prime minister's office said Saturday that Netanyahu is sending a delegation of senior officials to Qatar to negotiate the release of hostages and a Gaza cease-fire.

The prime minister's office said in a statement that Netanyahu met in Jerusalem with President-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Joseph Witkov, representatives of current US President Joe Biden, and senior Israeli officials.

After the meeting, the statement said, Mr. Netanyahu directed the heads of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency and Shin Bet, the security agency, to travel to Doha, along with General David Alon and foreign policy adviser David Falk, to continue working on a deal to free the hostages.

For more than a year, the United States, along with Qatar and Egypt, has been brokering talks to end the Gaza war and free hostages.

The statement was welcomed by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. "It is hoped that no effort will be spared to reach an agreement that ensures the return of all hostages," the forum said.

Over the weekend, Israel and Hamas resumed indirect talks in Qatar. Current discussions are focused on the immediate release of the hostages taken by Hamas during its attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Outgoing Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that real progress has been made.

Trump promised that if the hostages were not released before his inauguration on January 20, Hamas and others would face "hell."