By Maayan Lubell

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A high-level Israeli security delegation arrived in Qatar on Sunday for talks on a Gaza hostage and ceasefire agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman said, in a possible a sign of very close agreements.

Qatar and fellow mediators in Egypt and the United States are making renewed efforts to reach an agreement to end fighting in the enclave and release the remaining 98 hostages held there before taking office. President Donald Trump on January 20.

Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday that the delegation included Mossad Head David Barnea, the head of the Shin Bet domestic security service Ronen Bar and the military head of the hostage brief, Nitzan Alon.

Trump’s Middle East ambassador, Steve Witkoff, met with Netanyahu on Saturday, after meeting on Friday with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

Israeli and Palestinian officials have said since Thursday that some progress has been made in indirect talks between Israel and the militant group Hamas but did not elaborate. The sides hide a tight lid on the details made.

It is unclear how they will bridge one of the biggest gaps that has persisted in previous rounds of talks: Hamas has demanded an end to the war while Israel has said it will not end the war as long as Hamas rules Gaza. and posed a threat to the Israelis. .

Israel launched its attack on Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed its borders in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, with most of the enclave destroyed and gripped by a humanitarian crisis, and most of its population displaced.