The director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and his Israeli counterpart are to meet with Qatari officials to broker a potential second deal to secure the release of captives being held in Gaza and a pause in hostilities.
The CIA’s William Burns and Mossad chief David Barnea will meet with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Europe over the weekend, sources informed on the talks told Al Jazeera.
US President Joe Biden’s administration has been actively working to secure the release of about 130 captives still being held by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.
Any new agreement between Israel and Hamas would also aim to bring about the longest cessation of hostilities since the war erupted in October, officials told The Washington Post, which first reported Burns’s travel.
Egypt’s intelligence chief Abbas Kamel will also join the meeting.
The key mediators are attempting to narrow the differences between Israel and Hamas on the duration of the truce and the number of captives to be released in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel, according to Al Jazeera sources.
Qatar, along with Egypt, has engaged in negotiations to mediate a truce in Gaza and ensure the entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave. In November, it helped secure a weeklong pause in fighting in which more than 100 captives were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
