PM okays delegation to Doha, but officials say talks on 2nd phase of Gaza deal won’t start until security cabinet meets

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved the dispatch of a delegation to Doha to address technical details of the ongoing hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas, according to an unnamed Israeli official.

The source says the approval was given after the terror group released three hostages from Gaza this morning and Israel released 183 Palestinian security prisoners under the terms of the first stage of the accord.

The prime minister will hold a security cabinet meeting upon his return to Israel this evening regarding negotiations for the second stage of the hostage-ceasefire deal, the official says.

Senior Israeli officials cited by the Walla news site similarly say that this is only a “symbolic warm-up trip,” which is not expected to advance negotiations on the second phase of the deal.

Netanyahu is currently in Washington, DC, after a six-day trip during which he met with US President Donald Trump and senior American officials. He is due to fly back to Israel this evening. Walla reports that the security cabinet will meet on Monday.

The officials cited in the Walla report stress that the delegation has not received a mandate from the political echelon to conduct talks on the second phase, and it appears that the trip is intended primarily to demonstrate goodwill toward the Trump administration.

The Israeli delegation to Doha is said to include the government’s hostage point man Brigadier General (ret.) Gal Hirsch, along with a senior Shin Bet official and representatives form the Mossad, the Shin Bet and the IDF.