Israel to send negotiation team to continue hostage talks with Hamas on Thursday

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday approved sending an Israeli negotiation team to continue the hostage deal talks with Hamas leaders this Thursday.

The decision was made after an “in-depth discussion regarding the hostages, together with the hostage negotiation team and senior security establishment officials,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) stated.

Despite reported differences of opinion regarding the hostage deal talks recently, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant commended Netanyahu for the decision, and wished him “good luck” on his upcoming trip to the United States.

Before Biden’s surprise withdrawal from the presidential race, the meeting with Netanyahu was supposed to focus on securing a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas.

“In light of the operational achievements in the war, the conditions have been created and there is a limited window of opportunity for the release of hostages. Even if there are disagreements, the entire security system backs you up in the task of reaching an agreement,” Gallant wrote on 𝕏.

Senior security officials have been pressuring Netanyahu to move ahead with a hostage deal as soon as possible, according to Walla News.

The high-level meeting in Israel on Sunday focused on working out the updated Israeli position in the talks, which now includes the red lines Netanyahu has been reiterating for weeks.

A senior Israeli official told Walla News that the wording was crafted to include the four conditions presented by the prime minister while not contradicting the original deal outline. Additionally, it aimed to adopt a "realistic approach" regarding Hamas’ willingness to accept the demands. According to the official, the new wording has not yet been provided and the location for the renewed talks has not yet been determined.

The team will reportedly depart on Thursday so it can incorporate any updates from the meeting between Netanyahu and Biden and receive U.S. backing for the demands.

According to Walla, Netanyahu will seek support from Biden to press Egyptian and Qatari mediators to put pressure on Hamas to accept a deal.

On July 7, Netanyahu released a statement outlining four red lines regarding the hostage deal talks with Hamas, saying: “Any deal will allow Israel to resume fighting until all the objectives of the war have been achieved."

"There will be no smuggling of weapons to Hamas from Egypt to the Gaza border; There will be no return of thousands of armed terrorists to the northern Gaza Strip; Israel will maximize the number of living hostages who will be released from Hamas captivity,” the statement read.