A second round of Doha talks concludes, and Netanyahu meets with Trump today.

A second round of indirect talks between the Israeli delegation and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) concluded in Doha, ahead of an expected meeting on Monday between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is visiting Washington, and US President Donald Trump.

The Doha talks will continue later, focusing on reaching a framework agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and a prisoner exchange.

An Israeli official described the atmosphere so far in the talks mediated by Qatar and Egypt as positive. Palestinian officials said that the initial meetings held yesterday ended without reaching conclusive results.

Another Israeli official said that the issue of humanitarian aid was discussed in Qatar, without providing further details.

Trump said that a deal on Gaza was very close, adding that there was a good chance of concluding a deal with Hamas next week to release a large number of prisoners.

NBC reported that Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Gaza, will meet with US envoy Steve Witkoff before his meeting with President Trump on Monday.

Netanyahu told reporters before boarding the plane that the meeting with Trump could contribute to reaching an agreement (in Gaza), adding, "We want to achieve the deal according to the terms we agreed to, and the Israeli negotiating delegation has clear instructions to do so."

Netanyahu said on Saturday that "the changes Hamas is seeking to make to the initial proposal are unacceptable."

On Friday, Hamas announced that it had submitted a "positive" response to the mediators regarding a proposed agreement, and that it was "seriously prepared to immediately enter into a round of negotiations on the implementation mechanism" of the proposal.

The movement has repeatedly affirmed its willingness to release Israeli prisoners "in one batch" in exchange for ending the genocide and the Israeli military's withdrawal from Gaza.

But Netanyahu is evading the offer by proposing new conditions, insisting on guaranteeing the possibility of resuming the war until Hamas is dismantled and disarmed.

Netanyahu's visit and opposition criticism

On the domestic front in Israel, Democratic Party leader Yair Golan accused Netanyahu of refusing to end the war and daring to pay the price for remaining in power with the blood of others, emphasizing that he is wreaking havoc on Israel and will not defeat Hamas.

Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu party, also said that the Israeli government was preventing the release of the "kidnapped" soldiers for political reasons. He added that the Israeli soldiers "who fell in recent months did not fall for Israel, but rather fell on the altar of the ruling coalition's safety."

Since the beginning of the war, 883 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 6,060 wounded, most of them in Gaza, according to military data. In recent weeks, the military has announced the deaths and injuries of several of its soldiers in Gaza.

Lieberman added that it is possible to reach an agreement to release all Israeli prisoners, but the government is working to thwart it, he said.

In this context, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said, "We need a deal that ends the war and returns all the hostages" at once.

The US-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire includes the gradual release of Israeli prisoners held in Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from parts of the Strip, and discussions to end the war completely.

Some of Netanyahu's coalition partners oppose ending the fighting. But with Israelis increasingly concerned about the 21-month-old war, his government is expected to support a ceasefire.

About 20 of the remaining 50 detainees in Gaza are believed to be still alive.

With full American support, Israel has been committing genocidal crimes in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving approximately 194,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, more than 11,000 missing, and hundreds of thousands displaced.

Since the beginning of the war, 883 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 6,060 wounded, most of them in Gaza, according to military data. In recent weeks, the military has announced the deaths and injuries of several of its soldiers in Gaza.