ISTANBUL 

The head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea, visited the Qatari capital Doha Thursday for talks on resuming Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap negotiations with Hamas, Israeli media said. 

According to the daily Yedioth Ahronoth, Barnea met with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha, without giving further details.

US news website Axios said the visit marked the highest-level contact between Israel and mediators since negotiations broke down in Doha three weeks ago.

The outlet said Barnea told Qatari officials that Israel is prepared to launch a military operation in Gaza City if there is no progress in the hostage talks soon.

The US, Qatar, Egypt, and Türkiye are all involved in the mediation efforts to reach a comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Axios also noted that a Hamas delegation recently visited Istanbul for talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, before traveling to Cairo to meet Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad to discuss ways to resume the negotiations.

The Israeli Channel 13 claimed that Hamas is likely to present a new proposal for a Gaza ceasefire.

There was no comment from Hamas or Qatari officials on the Israeli report.

Egypt’s state-run Al-Qahera News channel, citing an Egyptian source, earlier said that Hamas was ready to “swiftly” return to the ceasefire negotiations with Israel.

The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal war in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, killing more than 61,700 Palestinians.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.