Israel has sent a negotiating team to Qatar today for talks with Hamas on a ceasefire-hostages deal. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office in a statement today said that after assessing the situation, Israel accepted the invitation for close talks.

It said Israel agreed to continued negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza based on the Qatari proposal. The proposal reportedly includes a 60-day ceasefire, the release, in five stages, of 10 Israeli live hostages, and the handover of 18 hostage bodies, as well as the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

On Friday, Hamas said in a statement that it has delivered a positive response to mediators over a Gaza ceasefire proposal. Hamas in statement said it is seriously prepared to immediately enter into a round of negotiations on the mechanism for implementing this framework.

Yesterday, Hamas proposed minor changes in the existing draft related to guarantees regarding a quick transition to negotiations to end the war. The Israeli statement said that Israel was informed yesterday evening that Hamas demanded changes to the proposal, which are unacceptable to Israel.