Israel announced tonight that it will be sending a delegation to Qatar on Sunday to participate in indirect negotiations with Hamas over a potential ceasefire and the release of hostages.
In the same statement, the Prime Minister’s Office clarified that Hamas had put forward a number of changes to the existing framework, and that Israel views these changes as unacceptable.
The decision to send Israeli envoys to Qatar comes as Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu prepares to fly to Washington on Sunday. There, he is scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump, with the Gaza conflict and the ongoing hostage discussions expected to be a central focus of their talks.
On Friday, Hamas gave what it described as a “positive” reply to a framework backed by both the United States and Israel. The plan outlines the staggered release of about half of the hostages who are still alive, as well as the remains of roughly half of those who died in captivity, all over the course of a 60-day period and five separate handovers.
A source involved in the mediation revealed that Hamas requested three modifications to the plan.
According to that source, Hamas wants assurances that negotiations for a permanent ceasefire will continue until a final agreement is reached. They also insist that humanitarian aid be restored in full via United Nations and international aid channels, and demand that Israeli forces pull back to the positions they held prior to the collapse of the previous truce in March.
The Prime Minister’s Office said on Saturday night that Hamas’s proposed changes were submitted the previous evening and emphasized that “are not acceptable to Israel.” Nonetheless, it confirmed that the Israeli team would travel to Doha on Sunday to continue the process. The statement did not indicate which of Hamas’s demands were rejected.
Meanwhile, across Israel, families of hostages staged rallies on Saturday night, calling on the government to secure a deal that brings home all the hostages — and not just a portion — in exchange for a permanent halt to the war.
Ahead of the protests, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum released a statement criticizing the emerging deal, which they fear will leave some captives behind even after the two-month ceasefire ends.
“At this critical time, we must not conform to the various ‘Schindler’s lists’ being dictated, as if it wasn’t possible to bring them all back long ago,” the group said, referencing the Holocaust-era rescue of 1,200 Jews through Oskar Schindler’s factory.
The Forum warned that releasing hostages in phases using prioritized lists plunges families into “unbearable uncertainty.”
“All of the abductees could have been returned for rehabilitation and burial many months ago, if only the government had chosen to do so rather than operate based on considerations of political survival.”
Hostage families have previously likened past partial deals — such as the one-week pause in November 2023 that freed 105 captives, and the two-month break in fighting earlier this year when 30 more were released — to the Nazis’ “selection” process in the camps, where some were sent to die and others were temporarily spared for forced labor.
{Matzav.com}
