Palestinians leave the eastern area of Khan Younis, Gaza, on July 2, 2024. (Photo: XNA/VNA)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered a delegation charged with negotiating a hostage deal with Hamas to be dispatched on Thursday, Netanyahu's office said in a statement on Sunday.The statement said Netanyahu held a meeting on Sunday with the delegation and senior members of Israel's defense establishment.

The statement did not specify the delegation's destination.

Until now a ceasefire effort led by Qatar and Egypt and backed by the United States has failed to produce any deal, with both sides in the more than nine-month-old Gaza conflict blaming each other for the impasse.