Mahmoud al-Mardawi, a representative of the Hamas leadership abroad, said, commenting on the report of the resumption of negotiations for the release of hostages, that at present “the ball is in Israel’s court.”
“The only step Israel should take is a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal from Gaza,” he said.
Earlier it became known that Mossad head David Barnea met in Paris with US CIA Director William Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Muhammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
During the meeting, it was decided that negotiations on the release of hostages held by Hamas would resume next week. Negotiations will continue on the basis of new proposals from Egypt and Qatar, developed with the active participation of the United States.
Israel has already expressed pessimism about the likelihood that an agreement will be reached, stressing that Hamas is not showing enough flexibility to achieve this.