CIA chief flies to Qatar to negotiate truce between Israel and Hamas

CIA Director William Burns Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The heads of the CIA and Israeli intelligence met with the Prime Minister of Qatar in Doha a possible deal to extend the truce between Israel and Hamas is being discussed.

William Burns, director of the CIA, and David Barney, head of the Israeli Mossad, met with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, a Qatari. prime minister, on Tuesday.

The meeting came a day after Qatar, which mediated negotiations to free the Hamas hostages, announced a two-day extension of the initial four-day truce in the Gaza Strip.

p>

“CIA Director Burns and Mossad Director Barney are in Doha to participate in a series of meetings initiated by the Qatari Prime Minister to discuss potential terms of a deal beyond the two-day extension. Egyptian officials are also present at the event,” a source briefed on the visit told The Telegraph.

The meetings are intended to “build on progress on an agreement on an extended humanitarian pause and initiate further discussions on the next stage of a potential deal,” another source said . The outcome of the negotiations is unclear, the source added.

Mr. Burns was in Doha “for meetings on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, including discussions of the hostage issue,” the U.S. official said.

Qatar, where several Hamas political leaders are based, is leading negotiations between the Palestinian terrorist group and Israel.

Mr Burns and Mr Barney previously traveled to Doha and met the Qatari Prime Minister on 9 November. A deal was later struck to release some hostages in exchange for a pause in fighting, which the Israeli government agreed to last week.

The truce brought the first respite in the Gaza Strip in seven weeks. Israel subjected the area to heavy bombing in response to an October 7 Hamas attack that killed some 1,200 people and captured 240.

During the first four days of the truce, Hamas released 50 Israeli women and children taken hostage. In response, Israel released 150 prisoners from its prisons, all women and teenagers.

As part of the two-day extension of the truce, Hamas agreed to release an additional 10 Israeli women and children each day. There is no sign yet that it is willing to release any of the captured Israeli men or military personnel.

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip. Health authorities in the Gaza Strip say Israel's bombing of the tiny, densely populated area has so far killed more than 15,000 people, about 40 percent of them children.

Dr. Sultan Barakat, acting director of the Global Institute of Health Strategic Studies at Hamad bin Khalifa University, which is a member of the Qatar Foundation, said: “While Israeli officials talk with their American and Qatari counterparts, the Hamas leadership in Qatar is interacting with Qatari officials and then with the Hamas leadership at home. in the Gaza Strip.

“There are a number of obstacles on the path to a ceasefire and peace. First, there is Benjamin Netanyahu's relentless and impractical desire to completely destroy Hamas.

“Despite the enormous destruction and humanitarian catastrophe inflicted on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Hamas command and control remained largely intact.”