Mossad chief lands in Paris to negotiate Gaza truce, media say
An Israeli delegation led by the head of the Mossad arrived in Paris on Friday hoping to "unblock" negotiations for a new truce in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli representative said.
In addition to David Barnea, the head of Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence agency, the delegation includes Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service, according to Israeli media.
Barnea met in late January in Paris with his US and Egyptian counterparts and the Qatari prime minister to try to reach a new truce agreement.
Preliminary talks for the first truce
The first truce since the start of the conflict that began on 7 October with the attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Israel was finalised at the end of November.
This one-week ceasefire allowed the release of more than 100 hostages captured by Hamas during its assault on Israeli territory, in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
A Hamas source said that in late January the parties discussed in Paris a plan for a six-week cessation of fighting and the release of 200-300 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 35-40 Israeli hostages.
Since then talks have also taken place in Egypt, with the participation of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who concluded a several-day visit on Thursday.
Hamas has been calling for weeks for a full ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, demands that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed, although he says he is open to a temporary halt to his military operation, which aims to "annihilate" the Islamist movement.
Netanyahu also opposes the release of Palestinian prisoners who have participated in anti-Israeli attacks, as demanded by Hamas.
The war erupted after Hamas attacked southern Israel on 7 October, leaving some 1,160 people dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP report based on Israeli data.
Israel launched an offensive that killed at least 29,514 people in Gaza, the vast majority of them civilians, according to the latest toll from the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory.
