Gaza ceasefire talks to resume in Qatar: US official

AP , Wednesday 28 Aug 2024

Ongoing talks aimed at bringing about a ceasefire in Gaza to resume in the Qatari capital of Doha after several days of intense negotiations in Cairo, according to a U.S. official.

Gaza
A boy pushes a bicycle loaded with aid boxes provided by (UNRWA) past a collapsed building, with a concrete block bearing graffiti reading in Arabic "to passersby over our dreams, this is Gaza", along a street in central Gaza City in August 2024.AFP

 

A round of high-level talks in Cairo meant to bring about a ceasefire deal ended Sunday without a final agreement.

Those talks included CIA director William Burns and David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. A Hamas delegation was briefed by Egyptian and Qatari mediators but have not directly taken part in negotiations.

But lower-level working teams had remained in Cairo as media as mediators from the United States, Qatar, and Egypt in hopes to address remaining disagreements.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly, said White House Middle East adviser Brett McGurk, who has been a key U.S. negotiator, has held talks in Doha with senior Qatari leaders on the ongoing efforts to complete a ceasefire deal.

McGurk’s meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani comes after the prime minister traveled to Tehran to speak with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday.

Both Cairo and Doha have served as hosts for talks aimed at ending the war throughout the conflict.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s office confirmed that an Israeli delegation will head to Doha on Wednesday.

They did not release further details about who will be traveling or what is on the agenda.

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