Jerusalem, Jul 6 (IANS): Chief of Israel's Mossad spy agency David Barnea has returned from the Qatari capital Doha following an initial meeting with mediators, and a team will be dispatched next week to continue the negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has announced.

"It should be emphasized that there are still gaps between the sides," the Israeli PMO said in a statement on Friday evening.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the dispatch of a delegation for negotiations on a ceasefire deal with Hamas in Gaza and the release of hostages, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a senior Israeli official.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that an official familiar with the hostage talks said that Mossad officials had told mediators that they are "optimistic" the Israeli cabinet will accept the ceasefire proposal currently under discussion.

According to Israel's Channel 12 survey revealed on Friday, when asked what is most important at this moment, 67 per cent of the people interviewed said returning the hostages from Gaza, compared to 26 per cent who said continuing the war in Gaza and 7 per cent who said they didn't know.

The recent development marks a renewed effort to negotiate an end to the nearly nine-month-long conflict, which, according to the Gaza-based health authorities, has resulted in the deaths of more than 38,000 Palestinians in the enclave.