Mossad chief visits Qatar as Israel shifts focus to full Gaza hostage deal: state media

JERUSALEM, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Mossad chief David Barnea visited Doha on Thursday for talks with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani on a Gaza hostage deal, Israel's state-owned Kan TV reported.

A senior Israeli official told Kan that Barnea informed the Qatari prime minister that a phased deal for the release of the 50 hostages held in Gaza "is off the table."

The official said the meeting focused on "issues involving the Mossad" and not on renewing the indirect negotiations in Doha, the last of which took place in early July.

The visit comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that efforts to secure a truce in Gaza are now centered on a comprehensive deal to release all remaining hostages at once. Previous deals involved temporary truces in exchange for the phased release of hostages.

Barnea's visit also follows reports that a Hamas delegation arrived in Qatar earlier this week, in a bid to revive negotiations and avert Israel's plan to further escalate its offensive in Gaza.

As Israeli forces continued their assault in Gaza, local health authorities said Thursday that at least 50 people were killed throughout the enclave over the past 24 hours and 831 wounded, including 22 killed while trying to get food at aid centers.

Since October 2023, at least 61,776 people have been killed by Israeli strikes and gunfire, the authorities added. Four more people died of famine and malnutrition, bringing the total to 239, including 106 children.■