Israel-Gaza war
William Burns and the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency will reportedly meet the Qatari prime minister in Europe to broker a deal
Portal
Fri Jan 26, 2024 01.01 GMT
The director of the Central Intelligence Agency and his Israeli counterpart will meet with Qatari officials in the coming days to discuss a second possible hostage-taking deal in the Gaza Strip and pause the fighting, three sources familiar with the matter told Portal on Thursday.
William Burns and Israeli intelligence agency Mossad chief David Barnea will meet Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Europe this weekend, an official briefed on the meeting told the news agency.
Israel is preparing for a preliminary ruling by the International Court of Justice on allegations of genocide in Gaza
According to a second source, Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel will also take part.
Reports in US media said Burns would also travel to Europe to meet with Israeli and Qatari officials about a ceasefire.
Joe Biden's administration has sought to facilitate the release of the more than 100 remaining hostages captured during Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, sparking the war in Gaza triggered. However, there is still a significant gap between the demands of both sides.
U.S. and Israeli intelligence chiefs previously met with Qatari and Egyptian officials and helped negotiate a short-lived ceasefire in November that saw the release of more than 100 hostages.
Burns was “involved in helping us with the existing hostage deal and helping us pursue another deal,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters aboard Air Force One with Biden traveled and referred specific questions to the agency.
The CIA, which keeps the director's trip secret, declined to comment on the meeting, which was first reported by The Washington Post.
U.S. ally Israel has vowed to root out Hamas, unleashing a spate of attacks that have leveled most of the Gaza Strip and killed at least 25,700 people, Palestinian health officials say.
A third source with knowledge of the talks said Israel had proposed a 60-day pause in fighting during which more than 100 hostages would be gradually released, starting with civilian women and children.
Then, according to the source, civilian men and women soldiers as well as the remains of hostages who died after the Hamas abduction would be released.
However, this plan sharply contradicts Hamas's latest proposal and raises questions about whether the gap can be bridged. According to the source, Hamas last week proposed an end to the war, international guarantees that it would not start again and the release of all detainees held by Israel, including those involved in its Oct. 7 attack.
Israel has consistently opposed a permanent ceasefire, a position supported by Washington. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel rejects Hamas' conditions.
Following planned weekend talks, Qatar's Al Thani is expected to be in Washington next week. He is scheduled to speak at the Atlantic Council on Monday, according to the think tank's website.
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