Israeli delegation, CIA director expected in Cairo this week to resume Gaza talks: Source

Ahram Online , Sunday 7 Jul 2024

An Israeli delegation involved in the Gaza truce talks is expected to arrive in Cairo within the coming hours on Sunday to resume the negotiations on releasing captives and achieving a ceasefire, an informed source told Al-Qahera News Channel.

William Burn
CIA Director William Burns. AFP

 

The source added that the delegation includes several officials from all the agencies involved in the prisoner negotiations.

Similarly, the source revealed that CIA Director, William Burns, is expected to travel to Cairo this week to participate in negotiations regarding the prisoner exchange deal and work towards ending the ongoing nine-month war in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier Sunday, a top Hamas official told AFP that the Palestinian group is ready to discuss a captive deal and an end to the Gaza war without a “complete and permanent ceasefire,” which it had insisted on before.

On Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesman acknowledged that despite the "gaps" with Hamas, especially on how to secure a Gaza ceasefire and the release of captives, Israel will send a delegation for fresh talks with Qatari mediators next week.

There has been no truce in the nine-month-old war in Gaza since a one-week pause in November, which saw 80 Israeli captives freed in return for 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

The United States, which has worked alongside Qatar and Egypt to broker a deal, had talked up the significance of Netanyahu's decision to send a delegation to Qatar, stressing, according to a senior official, that Israel and Hamas have a "pretty significant opening" to reach an agreement.

Since 7 October, Israel has carried out a deadly war that has killed at least 38,011 people in Gaza, mostly women and children.

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