Israel - December 27, 2024 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday instructed a senior delegation to depart to the Qatari capital Doha to continue advancing a deal with Hamas to release the Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip. A statement from the Prime Minister's Office said the directive followed a situation assessment Netanyahu held Saturday evening with Defense Minister Israel Katz and U.S. negotiators from "both the outgoing and incoming administrations." The Israeli delegation includes David Barnea, head of the Israeli Mossad intelligence agency, and Ronen Bar, chief of the Shin Bet internal security service. Indirect peace talks between Israel and Hamas have been on and off in the past months, with Qatar, Egypt, and the United States as the main mediators for a truce and a hostage-prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas, with the goal of achieving a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The latest round of negotiations has gained momentum since the resumption on Jan 3. Hamas and Israel have narrowed their differences on hostage-prisoner swap and issues including Israeli withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor between Egypt and Gaza. Hamas agreed to release 34 hostages for phase one of the ceasefire agreement, a key demand by Israel. It also agreed to postpone discussions on the Israeli withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor for phase two of the deal, which is a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. SHOTLIST: FILE: Israel - Nov 1, 2022 1. Various of premises of Israeli Parliament Knesset, national flag of Israel; FILE: Tel Aviv, Israel - April 7-8, 2019 2. Various of buildings, traffic; FILE: Doha, Qatar - Date Unknown 3. National flag of Qatar; 4. Various of buildings, traffic; FILE: Cairo, Egypt - April 6, 2019 5. Egyptian national flag; FILE: Cairo, Egypt - Date Unknown 6. Cityscape, traffic, river; Gaza Strip - Dec 2024 7. Various of rubble, destroyed buildings, displaced people; Gaza Strip - Dec 26-27, 2024 8. Various of people burying victim of Israeli attack; FILE: Gaza Strip - 2024 9. Various of damaged buildings, smoke. [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]