Israel will send a delegation to Qatar for ceasefire negotiations in Gaza.
The decision revives hopes for a breakthrough in negotiations to end the nearly 21-month war.
(Reuters)- Israel has decided to send a delegation to Qatar for negotiations on a possible hostage agreement and ceasefire in Gaza, an Israeli official said, reviving hopes for a breakthrough in talks to end the nearly 21-month war.
The Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday that it had responded to a US-backed ceasefire proposal in Gaza in a "positive spirit," a few days after US President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed "to the conditions necessary to finalize" a 60-day truce.
The Israeli negotiating delegation will fly to Qatar on Sunday, an Israeli official told Reuters, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.
However, in a sign of the potential challenges both sides still face, a Palestinian official from a militant group allied with Hamas said there are still concerns regarding humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing in southern Israel to Egypt, and clarity regarding the timetable for the withdrawal of Israeli troops.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is scheduled to meet with Trump in Washington on Monday, has yet to comment on Trump's announcement, and in his public statements, Hamas and Israel remain distant.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said that Hamas must be disarmed, a position that the militant group, which reportedly holds 20 hostages alive, has refused to discuss until now.
Israeli media reported on Friday that Israel had received and was reviewing Hamas's response to the ceasefire proposal.
