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
On Friday, the United Nations General Assembly handed High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk a fresh four-year mandate, ignoring clear opposition from the United States, Russia, and Israel.
President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the U.S. next week.
An Israeli airstrike on Saturday killed the head of the Hamas-led police force in the northern Gaza Strip, Brigadier-General Abdel-Nasser Al-Maqadma, the Hamas-run interior ministry and medics said.
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