Mossad chief David Barnea left for Doha on Friday to meet with Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to discuss a hostage swap deal and a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported that “the head of Mossad departed on Friday to hold meetings in Qatar with the Qatari prime minister."
Barnea traveled alone, without the rest of the negotiating team, which included Shin Bet Security Service chief Ronen Bar and Major General Nitzan Alon, who oversees files of the hostages in the Israeli army, the media outlet said.
“The negotiations will take time, and a major breakthrough is not expected soon. Expectations must be tempered," the broadcaster said, quoting unnamed Israeli officials as saying.
It said, "Israel estimates that the talks will continue for up to a month before a breakthrough is achieved.”
Officials, who spoke to the media outlet anonymously, stated: "While Hamas' response has given mediators hope, many issues need to be resolved, and it will take some time."
On Thursday, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office confirmed that Benjamin Netanyahu had approved the Israeli delegation's departure for indirect talks with Hamas, mediated by officials from Qatar and Egypt.
Israeli Cabinet, led by Netanyahu, met Thursday evening and, according to the Israeli broadcaster, ministers requested Hamas's response, but Netanyahu declined to share it, with experts providing only a general explanation.
Netanyahu has repeatedly accused Cabinet members of leaking deliberations to the media.
As of Friday, neither Israel, Hamas, nor the mediators had made public the response that Hamas submitted to the mediators, which was delivered to Israel on Wednesday.
Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.
More than 38,000 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 87,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.
Over eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling 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.
