Israel’s war cabinet has instructed the negotiating team to continue efforts to secure the release of the hostages, Israeli media reported early on Thursday morning, citing a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. The war cabinet had previously met for four hours. As Israel and the Palestinian militant organization Hamas are not negotiating directly with each other, Egypt, Qatar and the US are acting as mediators in the Gaza war. The most recent round of negotiations ended without results. The talks have been stuck ever since. In unprecedented attacks by Hamas and other ext…