Israeli delegation to attend new round of ceasefire talks in Qatar: PM's office

Jerusalem, July 22 (IANS) The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that an Israeli delegation will visit Qatar later this week to resume negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal.

Netanyahu held a lengthy discussion on Sunday with members of the negotiation team and senior security officials regarding the Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip, according to his office.

The delegation, headed by Mossad Chief David Barnea, will arrive in Doha on Thursday and engage in indirect negotiations brokered by Qatar and Egypt and supported by the US, Xinhua news agency reported.

The new round of negotiations had been delayed for about a week after Hamas halted the talks in protest over an Israeli attack on Khan Younis on July 13, which killed at least 90 Palestinians.

Previous rounds of talks in Qatar have so far failed to produce an agreement to end the more than nine months of conflict in Gaza, with both sides blaming each other for the deadlock.

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