Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has authorized Israeli negotiators to continue talks in Doha over the release of hostages, his office said Thursday, following accusations from both Israel and Hamas of slow progress in the discussions.
Indirect negotiations, facilitated by Qatar, Egypt and the U.S., have been underway in Doha for weeks, offering renewed hope for a cease-fire and hostage release agreement, though an agreement has remained elusive.
However, late last month, both sides accused each other of creating obstacles, further delaying a potential deal.
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved the professional-level delegation of the Mossad (spy agency), the IDF (military) and the ISA (internal security agency) to continue the negotiations in Doha," a statement from his office said.
A team from Hamas had also reached Cairo to prepare for negotiations in Doha "in the coming days," an official from the group told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue.
In December, Hamas had said that although negotiations were continuing "in a serious manner," Israeli negotiators had put forward "new conditions" that delayed reaching a deal.
Israel swiftly rebuffed the accusation, saying it was Hamas that was creating "new obstacles" to an agreement.
The latest developments came after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to step up strikes in Gaza if Hamas failed to release the hostages.
"If Hamas does not soon allow the release of the Israeli hostages from Gaza ... and continues firing (rockets) at Israeli communities, it will face blows of an intensity not seen in Gaza for a long time," Katz said.
Successive rounds of negotiations have all failed since a single, week-long truce in November 2023.
In Israel, critics of Netanyahu, including relatives of some of the dozens of hostages still in captivity, have accused him of stalling.
During their incursion on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas seized 251 hostages, 96 of whom remain in Gaza.
A key point of contention in the negotiations has been Israel's reluctance to agree to a lasting cease-fire.
Another unresolved issue has been Gaza's post-war governance.
Israel has said repeatedly that it will not allow Hamas to rule the territory ever again.
Netanyahu has also said he will not agree to a complete withdrawal from Gaza.
The Oct. 7, 2023, incursion resulted in 1,208 deaths on the Israeli side.
Israel's retaliatory rampage has killed at least 45,581 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's Health Ministry, which the U.N. considers reliable.
