Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to convene a meeting of the security establishment on Sunday evening, with a limited number of ministers in attendance, to discuss the ongoing negotiations for a hostage deal, sources told The Jerusalem Post.
A senior Israeli source told the Post that the meeting will also address whether to present a new map outlining the deployment of IDF troops in the Gaza Strip during a potential ceasefire.
So far, Israel has presented two maps to the mediators detailing the proposed deployment of its forces as part of the deal, both of which Hamas has rejected.
The terrorist organization is demanding an almost complete IDF withdrawal, returning to the positions held at the beginning of March. Israel is reportedly unwilling to agree to that demand.
A source familiar with the negotiations told the Post that no talks took place between Israel and Hamas at all on Sunday.
American businessman Bishara Bahbah, an envoy of Steve Witkoff who is mediating between Israel and Hamas, wrote on his Facebook page: "Dear residents of Gaza, I debated whether to post since there’s no real update, but the truth is that we are working hard with all mediators to find a solution to the current deadlock in the negotiations. There are many important meetings today between the Emir of Qatar and Trump, and we hope they will lead to progress soon."
Witkoff said on Sunday that he was "hopeful" about Gaza ceasefire negotiations.
Witkoff told reporters in Teterboro, New Jersey, that he planned to meet senior Qatari officials on the sidelines of the FIFA Club World Cup final.
Hostage-ceasefire stalled
Palestinian officials told the BBC that hostage-ceasefire negotiations are on the verge of collapse on Saturday.
A Palestinian official claimed that Netanyahu had purposefully sent a delegation to Doha with no real decision-making authority on key points of contention in order to buy Israel time while he visited Washington.
Later on Saturday, Israel accepted the Qatari-proposed hostage deal, based on the Witkoff outline, while Hamas rejected it, a senior official in the Prime Minister's Office told reporters.
The official noted that negotiations in Doha regarding the hostage deal are ongoing, claiming that talks were also held during the Sabbath with the mediators, as well as Egypt and Qatar.
According to him, the Israeli team was sent to Doha based on the Qatari proposal, to which Israel agreed, and received the necessary mandate for the talks. "Hamas rejected the Qatari proposal, is creating obstacles, refuses to compromise, and accompanies the talks with psychological warfare aimed at sabotaging the negotiations," the senior official in the Prime Minister's Office claimed.