CNN
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Israeli negotiators attending ceasefire and hostage release talks in Doha have expressed “cautious optimism,” even as some gaps between both sides persist, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.
A high-level Israeli delegation, which includes Mossad director David Barnea, arrived in Doha, following clear signs of progress in the hostage and ceasefire negotiations.
The areas where daylight remains between the two sides are the Philadelphi corridor – a narrow strip of land along the Egypt-Gaza border – and the presence of the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza, as well as phrasing concerning the end of the war, according to the source.
Israel has long demanded that its troops remain along the Philadelphi corridor, while Hamas insists that they withdraw. The disagreement over that narrow but strategic piece of land was a key reason for the collapse of previous talks in August last year.
Gaps also remain between the Hamas leadership in Gaza and the group’s leadership abroad, the source also explained.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met with US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday, is facing pressure from both the current and incoming US administrations to reach a deal by January 20.
Despite that pressure, the source said the decision to send the high-level delegation to talks in Doha was made because most parties involved in negotiations really want a deal, adding that conditions are ripe. “American pressure had little to do with it,” the source claimed.
But pressure from the United States is clearly being felt inside the Israeli government, an Israeli official acknowledged to CNN on Saturday.
The Israeli delegation also includes Nitzan Alon, the head of the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) hostages unit and Ronen Bar, the head of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency.
Negotiations have appeared deadlocked for months, despite the efforts of the outgoing US President Joe Biden. Trump, meanwhile, has warned that “all hell will break out” if the hostages are not released by his inauguration on January 20.
The Hostages Families Forum welcomed the decision to send the Israeli delegation, describing the move as “a historic opportunity to secure the release of all our loved ones.”
“Leave no stone unturned and return with an agreement that ensures the return of all hostages, down to the last one,” the forum said in a statement on Saturday.
The optimism comes even as Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza continues to rage, with the IDF on Saturday announcing the deaths of four soldiers in combat in the north of the enclave.
Israel launched the war in response to the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, that killed more than 1,200 people and saw more than 250 taken hostage. Since then, at least 46,537 Palestinians have been killed and more than 109,571 people injured, according to health authorities in Gaza.
While dozens of hostages were released as part of a short-lived hostages-for-ceasefire deal in November 2023, the Israeli government believes 98 hostages are still being held in Gaza – nearly all of whom were taken on October 7, 2023, and dozens of whom are believed to be dead.
Growing frustration over the lack of progress since the 2023 deal has seen protesters regularly take to the streets in Israel.
On Saturday, protests took place in several locations, including Tel Aviv, where some demonstrators marched through the city center with signs calling for the end of the war and saying “weak leaders wage pointless wars.”
At the weekly rally at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, Shira Albag – whose 19-year-old daughter Liri Albag appeared in a recent “proof of life” hostage video released by Hamas – demanded an immediate deal as she addressed the crowd.
“I stand here, exactly one week after receiving proof of life from my Liri, and my heart just wants to scream. Liri, our light, just 19 years old – a child with her whole life ahead of her – is there, in captivity, in hell,” Albag said.
“A deal now!” she demanded, adding, “Liri is alive, and she will return home alive!”
US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew and UK Ambassador to Israel Simon Walters also addressed the crowd.
“Tonight, as Israel’s close friends and allies, we reaffirm our commitment to helping reach a breakthrough that will bring the hostages home and bring a better future for the people of this region,” Lew said.
Walters added: “Hamas bears full responsibility for these crimes. But practically, we know that the only way to bring all the hostages home is through negotiation.”
Meanwhile, the mother and father of Itay Chen, one of the seven dual US-Israeli citizens still held by Hamas, visited Qatar in person this week to speak with negotiators.
Chen is dead but his body has not been recovered or returned.
“We went to Qatar because we don’t have full confidence in our representatives in the negotiations and wished to convey the families’ position to the US and Qatar facilitators,” Ruby Chen told CNN on Saturday.
CNN’s Jeremy Diamond and Jim Sciutto contributed to this report.
