JERUSALEM, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Israel is set to send a delegation to Qatar for negotiations on a Gaza ceasefire deal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement on Thursday.
The delegation, led by head of the Israeli Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea, will depart for Qatar on Friday, his office said.
The talks include head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency William Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamel.
The meeting "will be held as part of the negotiations in Doha, and its purpose is to advance the efforts to return the hostages," the office stated.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is expected to arrive in Israel for talks with senior officials on Friday, said Wednesday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, that negotiations to secure an immediate truce in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza were "getting closer" to a deal.
