The upcoming talks would discuss a two-month pause in exchange for the release of all 132 captives from Gaza as U.S. officials told Axios that reaching a deal might pave the way for a ceasefire.
The CIA’s director Bill Burns is reportedly meeting officials from Qatar, Egypt and Israel’s Mossad in Europe “in the coming days” to discuss a new captives’ release deal, U.S. officials told Axios on Thursday.
Burns is expected to meet Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, though the Gulf state has not publicly commented on the reported meeting.
The CIA chief is also meeting Egypt’s intelligence chief, Abbas Kamel, and the Mossad’s director, David Barnea, in addition to other Israeli officials, including Israeli Shin Bet security service director Ronen Bar.
A senior Israeli official told Axios that the meeting was a key step to reach a breakthrough in the talks, which had stalled since the expiration of the previous truce.
Qatar and Egypt had mediated the truce at the time, which lasted between November 24 and December 1, enabling the release of at least 110 Israeli and foreign captives from Gaza.
The deal also saw the release of 240 Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons.
The upcoming talks would discuss a two-month pause in exchange for the release of all 132 captives from Gaza as U.S. officials told Axios that reaching a deal might pave the way for a ceasefire.
Hamas has repeatedly placed a ceasefire as its condition to return the captives whereas Israel demanded temporary pauses.
Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza has raged on for nearly four months, killing more than 25,000 Palestinians, 70% of which are women and children.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden’s senior Middle East adviser Brett McGurk is reportedly returned to Qatar last week after a stopover in Egypt for talks aimed at releasing the remaining captives from Hamas.
Qatar’s Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Majed Al Ansari, had provided official updates on the Gulf state’s mediation efforts in Gaza on Tuesday during a weekly press briefing.
While Al Ansari expressed optimism over the success of Qatar’s mediation, he stressed that the “relentless escalation and intricate humanitarian situation” are affecting the process.
“If the war drags on, it will lead to further deaths and injuries, therefore work must be done for a durable ceasefire,” Al Ansari said, as cited in a readout by the Qatari foreign ministry.
The Qatari diplomat noted that media leaks “and remarks about displacement, rebuffing the two-state solution, and the continuation of war adversely affect the progress of these negotiations and subsequently lead to difficult discussions.”
He added: “The matter becomes more difficult with the increase of war pace, and Qatar’s position has not been negative from day one in its efforts, but offered numerous suggestions and reached an agreement in the previous pause, notwithstanding many entities that try to besmirch the reputation of Qatar.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been under immense domestic pressure, especially by the captives’ families who have been demanding a pause to get their relatives out of Gaza.
Almost daily protests have been taking place in Tel Aviv, many of which have called on Netanyahu to resign, placing more pressure on the Israeli government to pause the war.
