Israel’s negotiating team set to travel to Qatar on Sunday is not authorized to discuss the second phase of a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas, according to Israeli media.
The Israeli team includes Brigadier General Gal Hirsch, Israel’s coordinator for the hostages, and a former deputy chief of the Shin Bet domestic service, whose name was not disclosed.
"The Israeli team is not authorized to discuss the second phase of the deal," the Israeli public broadcaster KAN said.
KAN said the mandate of the negotiating team is limited to discussing the continuation of the first phase of the agreement.
According to KAN, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to extend the first phase of the deal for as long as possible.
Negotiations on the second phase of the agreement were initially set to begin last Monday, but Haaretz newspaper, citing an unnamed member in Netanyahu’s delegation during his visit to Washington, said that the premier would not commit to the second phase of the deal without first eliminating Hamas.
The first six-week phase of the Gaza agreement took effect on Jan. 19, halting Israel’s genocidal war, which has killed nearly 48,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for 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.
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