Israel resumes negotiations in Doha as Netanyahu departs for the US

Israeli President Isaac Herzog met today with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the latter's departure for Washington. His office has not yet released details of the trip, although local media reported that he will meet with US President Donald Trump on Monday afternoon (early Tuesday morning in Israel).

"During his visit to Washington, the Prime Minister carries with him an important mission: to push for an agreement for the return of all our hostages home. This is a supreme moral duty. I fully support these efforts, even when they involve difficult, complex, and painful decisions," Herzog said in a statement on the Gaza truce being negotiated by Israel and Hamas through mediators.

Herzog, one of the Israeli leaders most in favor of diplomatic means to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip, considers Netanyahu's trip to the United States to be " a significant step forward" in the ceasefire agreement that would allow for the release of the 50 hostages still held by Hamas, of which Israel believes only about 20 are alive.

"We must all remember that the cost is not simple, but I am confident that the Cabinet and security authorities will manage these challenges as they have done so far," he added.

The Hebrew president wished Netanyahu "great success" in his crucial mission and congratulated the Israeli negotiating team, which will arrive in Doha today to continue discussing the terms of the agreement with the mediators.

"An entire nation is watching, hoping, and praying that all our hostages return home as soon as possible," he said.

Herzog also thanked Trump for "his support in eliminating the nuclear threat from Iran," referring to the U.S. bombings on June 22 against three of the main facilities of the ayatollahs' regime's nuclear program.

He also expressed his hope that this meeting would pave the way for further expansion of the Abraham Accords throughout the region.

A 60-day truce is the basic principle of the proposal put forward months ago by Washington's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, which Israel has supported from the outset and which Hamas approved on Friday night, although it requested some changes.

Netanyahu considered these modifications "unacceptable," as he said early this morning in a statement, adding that he had given the green light to a negotiating team to travel to Doha, Qatar, today to continue negotiations.