Israel announced Tuesday that it will dispatch a team to Qatar this weekend for negotiations on the next phase of a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner exchange deal.
The announcement came after a meeting between Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz in Washington during which they discussed the next phase of the Gaza cease-fire deal.
Israeli prime minister's office described the meeting as "positive and friendly," which came ahead of his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
He will be the first foreign leader to meet Trump in the White House since his return to power last month, and will likely face some pressure to honor the cease-fire the U.S. leader has claimed credit for.
Hours before their meeting, Netanyahu's office confirmed Israel would send a delegation to the Qatari capital Doha later this week for negotiations.
Hamas has said it is ready to negotiate the second stage of the cease-fire, mediated by Qatar, the United States and Egypt, and which should focus on a more permanent end to the war.
The first phase, which took effect on Jan, 19, halted more than 15 months of genocidal war that killed nearly 47,500 people and leveled much of the Gaza Strip.
In line with the agreement, Hamas and Israel have begun exchanging hostages held in Gaza for prisoners held in Israeli jails.
"Israel is preparing for the working-level delegation to leave for Doha at the end of this week in order to discuss technical details related to the continued implementation of the agreement," Netanyahu's office said following meetings with Trump's advisors, including Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
The war was triggered by the Hamas incursion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 that caused around 1,200 deaths and took 251 hostages.
The conflict has devastated much of Gaza, while families of the Israeli hostages have been urging all sides to ensure the agreement is maintained so their loved ones can be freed.
Relatives of the youngest hostages, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, made a plea on Monday for information on the two boys and their mother, Shiri, after their father Yarden Bibas was released in the latest swap.
"Shiri, Ariel and Kfir, we miss you so much and are waiting for you with Yarden now," Ofri Bibas, Yarden's sister, said.
Trump has touted a plan to "clean out" Gaza, calling for Palestinians to move to Egypt or Jordan.
Both countries have flatly rejected his proposal, as have the territory's own residents.
"We are the owners of this land; we have always been here, and will always be. The future is ours," said Majed al-Zebda, a father of six whose house was destroyed in the war.
Before leaving for Washington, Netanyahu said Israel's wars with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and its confrontations with Iran had "redrawn the map" in the Middle East.
"But I believe that working closely with President Trump we can redraw it even further and for the better," he said.
Netanyahu hailed the fact he would be the first foreign leader to meet Trump since his inauguration as "testimony to the strength of the Israeli-American alliance."
Trump, who prides himself on his dealmaking abilities, will be pushing Netanyahu to stick to the agreement, possibly offering incentives such as a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia.
Efforts under Trump's predecessor Joe Biden for normalization froze with the Gaza war, and Saudi Arabia has in recent months hardened its position.
Under the Gaza cease-fire's ongoing 42-day first phase, Hamas was to free 33 hostages in staggered releases in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
Four hostage-prisoner exchanges have already taken place, with the Palestinian resistance grousp freeing 18 hostages in exchange for some 600 mostly Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
The truce has also led to a surge of food, fuel, medical and other aid into Gaza, and allowed people displaced by the war to return to their neighborhoods in the north of the Palestinian territory.
