On the same day it was announced that Israel and Hamas had struck an agreement to exchange the hostages to de-escalate the ongoing war, Mossad Director David Barnea arrived in Doha to meet Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, a new report in Axios has claimed.
Although the deal has since been delayed until Friday by the Israeli side, Barnea’s arrival in the Qatari capital is being regarded as a significant development. The Israeli intelligence agency chief has been the lead negotiator during the ongoing hostage situation.
Barnea’s arrival and the subsequent delay suggest that some details to finalise the deal on how it will be implemented on the ground and the exact time the pause in fighting will begin, were yet to be chalked out.
According to multiple reports, the details about when the ceasefire will go into effect will be announced by Qatar “in co-ordination with the Egyptians and the Americans, in the coming hours” on Thursday (Nov 23).
What happened on Wednesday?
Throughout Wednesday (Nov 22), reports claimed that the truce was expected to go into force on Thursday morning by 10 am. However, late in the night, Israeli National Security Council Director Tzachi Hanegbi said the release of Palestinians being held by Israel and for more humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip had been delayed until Friday.
“The contacts on the release of our hostages are advancing and continuing constantly. The start of the release will take place according to the original agreement between the sides, and not before Friday,” said Hanegbi.
According to news agency AFP, citing a Palestinian official, the deal had been delayed over “the names of the Israeli hostages and the modalities of their release”.
The agreement follows weeks of war in the Gaza Strip after Hamas terrorists broke through the militarised Gaza border on October 7 in an unprecedented attack. Israeli officials say about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and around 240 taken hostage.
(With inputs from agencies)
