Israeli PM Netanyahu to meet top officials for key hostage talks with Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with top security officials Sunday evening to discuss hostage exchange negotiations with Palestinian resistance group Hamas, according to Israeli media reports.

During the meeting, Netanyahu will finalize the composition of the negotiating team that will head to Qatar for the talks, reported Israeli Channel 13.

Citing Mossad sources, the channel reported that Israeli officials are optimistic about reaching a deal to secure the return of Israeli hostages from Gaza.

The sources indicated that Israel views the current moment as “opportune” for an agreement, with security authorities advising political leaders to capitalize on it.

According to Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, the negotiating team is scheduled to depart Israel on Monday to pursue the hostage swap deal with Hamas.

For months, efforts by the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt to mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas for a hostage exchange and cease-fire have been hampered by Netanyahu’s rejection of Hamas’s call to halt hostilities.

Israel has faced international condemnation for continuing its offensive on Gaza despite a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

The offensive began following an October 7, 2023, attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Over 38,150 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed, and over 87,800 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nine months into the Israeli war, large parts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Criminal Court (ICJ), which recently ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.