After the assassination of Sinwar: negotiations for a hostage deal will resume at the beginning of next week in Qatar.
At the instruction of Prime Minister Netanyahu, Mossad Chief David Barnea will travel to Doha on Sunday for a meeting with CIA Director Bill Burns and the Prime Minister of Qatar.
In a statement from the Prime Minister's Office, it was reported that "the parties will discuss various options for initiating negotiations for the release of the hostages from Hamas captivity, in light of recent developments."
Additionally, the Saudi channel Al-Hadath reports from its sources that a high-level Russian delegation arrived in Israel today to discuss the possibility of reaching an agreement between Israel and Hamas. In the Saudi report, it was claimed that Putin sent a message to Netanyahu stating that the war in Gaza and Lebanon should be brought to an end and called on him to respond to the peace initiatives currently on the table.
Last night, Musa Abu Marzouk, Deputy Head of Hamas's Political Bureau, who is visiting Moscow, said that the terrorist organization Hamas is ready to "prioritize the release of two hostages with Russian citizenship who are in the Gaza Strip." This was reported in an interview with the Kremlin's mouthpiece, RIA Novosti, regarding the two hostages with Russian citizenship – Sasha Alexander Trufanov and Maxim Herkin. This, despite their claim that the two are "soldiers in the IDF."
Regarding Trufanov, Abu Marzouk said: "He is in the hands of the Islamic Jihad, he is a military officer who was captured during battles." Of course, he will be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners located in Israeli territory. Regarding Harkins, Abu Marzouk said: "He is Ukrainian." When he was taken captive, he was not a Russian citizen. His family came to Russia and obtained Russian citizenship for him so that Russia would help in his release. But he is not a citizen. He is a soldier who served in the Israeli army.
However, Abu Marzouk added: "As a sign of respect to our Russian colleagues, they (Trufanov and Herkin) will be prioritized to be released first." Last night, Abu Marzouk met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. According to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry, the two discussed the "release of hostages held in Gaza."
