Israel, Hamas said to resume indirect talks in Doha as Netanyahu set to meet Trump at White House

Hamas and Israel were resuming talks in Qatar, an unnamed Palestinian official says, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump, who has pushed for a “deal this week.”

The latest round of negotiations on the war in Gaza began yesterday in Doha, aiming to broker a ceasefire and reach an agreement on the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

“Indirect negotiations are scheduled to take place before noon today in Doha between the Hamas and Israeli delegations to continue discussions” on the proposal, a Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations tells AFP. There is no official comment from Israel.

Ahead of Netanyahu’s third visit to the White House since Trump’s return to office this year, the US president said there was a “good chance” of reaching an agreement.

“We’ve gotten a lot of the hostages out, but pertaining to the remaining hostages, quite a few of them will be coming out,” he told journalists.

Netanyahu, speaking before taking off for Washington, said his meeting with Trump could “definitely help advance this” deal, but highlighted his opposition to any agreement that would ultimately leave Hamas in power in Gaza.

However, Palestinian sources claimed that the Israeli delegation didn’t have a sufficient mandate to reach an agreement with Hamas.

Terrorists in Gaza are still holding 50 hostages, with 28 of them confirmed dead by the IDF. Twenty of the hostages are believed by Israeli authorities to be alive, and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said.

Hamas-linked authorities claim that more than 57,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, an unverified figure that does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 444.