JERUSALEM

An Israeli negotiating team will travel to Qatar on Saturday to restart talks with Hamas on a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal, Israel’s public broadcaster reported Thursday.

The delegation composed of officials from Shin Bet and Mossad, has been instructed by Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to finalize the first phase of the deal and begin discussions on the second phase.

Israel expects the Palestinian resistance group to release a list of hostages Friday, ahead of their scheduled release Saturday, the report added.

But officials in Israel, however, have expressed concerns that recent statements by US President Donald Trump on a plan to “take over” Gaza and forcibly relocate Palestinians could jeopardize negotiations.

Trump has repeatedly suggested since Jan. 25 that Palestinians in Gaza should be taken in by regional Arab nations such as Egypt and Jordan — an idea rejected by those Arab states and Palestinian leaders.

Talks on implementing the second phase of the deal were initially set to begin Monday, the 16th day of the ceasefire agreement, but were delayed. The Haaretz newspaper quoted an unnamed source from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s entourage in Washington who indicated that Netanyahu would not proceed with the second phase unless Hamas is eliminated.

A ceasefire agreement took effect Jan. 19 in Gaza, halting Israel’s genocidal war that has killed nearly 47,600 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November last year for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.​​​​​​​

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Please contact us for subscription options.