The deal seemed on the verge of unravelling. Hamas had accused Israel of failing to keep its side of the bargain, and Israel was threatening to resume its lethal onslaught on besieged Gaza where it has killed around 15,000 Palestinians in 53 days, AP reports.

That was the point at which a Qatari jet landed at Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport on Saturday. Negotiators aboard set to work, seeking to save the ceasefire deal between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas before it fell apart and scuttled weeks of high-stakes diplomatic wrangling.

The weekend mission was successful, and most of the team jetted home. But several Qatari mediators stayed behind to work with Israeli intelligence officials on extending the four-day truce.

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