By The opinion
08 Jul 2024, 13:53 PM EDT
CIA chief William Burns arrived in Cairo on Monday to meet with an Egyptian delegation at the start of a new round of negotiations to reach a truce agreement in the Gaza Strip, Egyptian state television Al Qahera News reported.
“An American delegation led by the CIA director arrives in Cairo to meet with the Egyptian security delegation at the start of a new round of truce negotiations in Gaza,” a “high-level source” told the outlet, close to Egyptian intelligence.
The source added that there is “intense activity” on the part of Egypt, which is mediating the truce alongside Qatar and the United States, to reach a ceasefire agreement after six months of negotiations.
The meeting also includes an Israeli delegation “made up of officials from all agencies involved in the negotiations,” the outlet said on Sunday.
The Egyptian mediation team is also in contact with the Hamas delegation. to discuss outstanding issues in order to achieve a cessation of hostilities and to achieve an exchange of Israeli hostages in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh presented mediators with a new deal proposal late Wednesday, and Mossad chief David Barnea, who leads the Israeli negotiating team, made a whirlwind trip on Friday to receive the proposal and meet with Qatar’s prime minister, the lead mediator.
After that trip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed his negotiating team to return to Doha to resume negotiations for a truce agreement, although he admitted that there were still “gaps” in the positions of both parties.
With information from EFE.
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