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Israeli delegation leaving Doha talks for consultations — PM’s office

Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said earlier in the day that the Qatari mediators continue consultations on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip

TEL AVIV, December 24. /TASS/. The Israeli delegation is leaving Doha, which hosts talks on the Gaza hostages release, for consultations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said.

"The negotiating team comprised of high-ranking [intelligence service] Mossad, the General Security Service, and Israel Defense Forces officials will return from Qatar to Israel this evening after week-long important talks. The team is returning for internal consultations in Israel concerning further hostage release talks," it said.

Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said earlier in the day that the Qatari mediators continue consultations on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. He said that consultations on Gaza are being held on other tracks as well, including in Cairo. However, he refrained from detailed comments on this topic, saying only that "no one can say for sure the timeframe within which the agreement will be reached."

The Al Arabiya TV channel reported on December 22, citing sources, that the Israeli delegation was discussing with Qatari mediators in Doha ways to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and free all the Hamas-held hostages. According to the TV channel’s sources, the Israeli side "sees a prospect" of concluding a deal with Hamas despite "poor chances."

Several rounds of hostage release talks this year have yielded no result so far. The sides failed to extend the November 2023 agreement on the release of 105 hostages during a week-long ceasefire. According to the Israeli side, 96 out of 251 hostages abducted on October 7, 2023 are still held in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military has saved eight hostages and recovered the bodies of 38 people in the past 14 months.

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