Any agreement to release hostages will require an end to the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, an official on Israel’s negotiation team told the families of captives, according to Channel 12.

The official informed the families that Mossad Director David Barnea’s trip to Doha tomorrow, aimed at restarting mediated talks, will only yield results if the government grants him a sufficiently broad mandate, which has not yet been provided.

This assessment from the negotiator comes despite Israel’s expectation that Hamas’s demands for a deal might lessen following the killing of its leader, Yahya Sinwar.