The head of Israel's Mossad spy agency met Qatar's prime minister in Europe late on Friday, according to a source with knowledge of the matter, as attention turned to a possible new Gaza truce and a prisoner and hostage deal.
The meeting between David Barnea and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was apparently the first between senior officials from Israel and Qatar, which has been acting as a mediator, since the collapse of a seven-day ceasefire in late November © Mena Today
The head of Israel's Mossad spy agency met Qatar's prime minister in Europe late on Friday, according to a source with knowledge of the matter, as attention turned to a possible new Gaza truce and a prisoner and hostage deal.
Israel bombarded targets across Gaza on Saturday, but two Egyptian security sources said Israeli officials now appeared more willing to work towards a ceasefire and an exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
The meeting between David Barnea and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was apparently the first between senior officials from Israel and Qatar, which has been acting as a mediator, since the collapse of a seven-day ceasefire in late November.
In another sign of a possible breakthrough, Israeli media said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would convene his security cabinet and deliver a televised statement on Saturday evening. Netanyahu's office did not immediately confirm that.
Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo and Shani and Fadi Shana in Gaza, Henriette Chacar, Ari Rabinovitch and Frank Jack Daniel in Jerusalem, Andrea Shalal, Jeff Mason and Eric Beech in Washington; Writing by Michael Perry, Kevin Liffey and Giles Elgood; Editing by William Mallard, Tom Hogue and Andrew Heavens
Israel is not seeking an endless war with Iran and will coordinate with the United States on when to end the fighting, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday, declining to publicly state a timeline for when the conflict could end.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun launched a scathing attack on Hezbollah Monday, accusing the Iran-backed group of deliberately seeking to trigger Lebanon's « collapse », and calling for direct negotiations with Israel to end the war.
Hezbollah said on Monday its fighters clashed with Israeli troops in eastern Lebanon during an Israeli airborne raid overnight, in what would be the second such operation in the area in recent days, as the war between Israel and the Iran-backed group entered a second week.
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