JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Joe Biden on Thursday he has decided to send a delegation to resume stalled negotiations on a hostage release deal with Hamas, their administrations said.
Netanyahu approved the dispatch of a delegation for negotiations on a ceasefire deal with Hamas in Gaza and the release of hostages, a senior Israeli official told Xinhua on Thursday.
Israel's decision to take part in the talks, which are likely to take place in Egypt or Qatar, came a day after the Qatari and Egyptian mediators, backed by the United States, delivered Hamas' response to a proposed deal to Israel.
An Israeli official said the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency would lead the Israeli delegation for the talks.
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Netanyahu was scheduled to have consultations with his negotiating team, then discuss the hostage release talks with his security cabinet.
The White House said Biden and Netanyahu, on a phone call, discussed the response received from Hamas on possible terms of a deal.
"The president welcomed the prime minister’s decision to authorize his negotiators to engage with US, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators in an effort to close out the deal," it said in a statement.
The war will end only after it has achieved all its goals - and not a moment before
"After a preliminary discussion, Prime Minister Netanyahu approved sending the negotiating delegation," the official said, speaking on conditions of anonymity.
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The source reiterated that Israel would agree that "the war will end only after it has achieved all its goals - and not a moment before."
Also on Thursday, Israel's state-owned Kan TV news reported that government officials voiced "optimism" about the chances of reaching a deal, describing Hamas' response as "the best" since the beginning of the indirect negotiations.
Hamas said on Wednesday that it consulted with the Qatari and Egyptian mediators about the proposed deal. "We exchanged some ideas with the mediator brothers to stop the aggression against our Palestinian people," the group said in a statement.
The recent development marks a renewed effort to negotiate an end to the nearly nine-month-long conflict, which, according to the Gaza-based health authorities, has resulted in the deaths of more than 38,000 Palestinians in the enclave.
Israel launched a massive offensive in the Gaza Strip following a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and around 250 others were taken hostage.
