Dec 16 — Israeli officials appear more willing in calls with mediators to strike a fresh deal for a ceasefire and release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of hostages held in Gaza, two Egyptian security sources said yesterday.

The comments came as Axios reported the head of Israel”s Mossad spy agency, David Barnea, met Qatar”s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Europe late on Friday in an effort to revive talks.

There was no immediate response from Israel to the Egyptian assessment or to the reports of a meeting 10 weeks after the start of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas in Gaza.

The Egyptian sources said Israeli officials appeared to have changed their mind on some points that they had previously refused, but did not go into further detail.

Axios said the meeting in Europe was the first between senior officials from Israel and Qatar, which has been negotiating between the sides, since the collapse of a seven-day ceasefire in late November

The Wall Street Journal separately reported Qatar’s prime minister would meet Mossad’s Barnea in Norway’s capital Oslo on Saturday.

Significant obstacles impede a resumption of negotiations on a new hostage deal including disagreements over the possible terms within Hamas, that report added, citing people familiar with the talks.

A Hamas official, when asked earlier if there was a drive to resume hostage negotiations, told Reuters there was nothing new to report.

During the week-long truce in late November, Hamas released more than 100 women, children and foreigners it was holding in Gaza in exchange for the release of 240 women and teenagers. — Reuters