The head of Israel’s national intelligence agency Mossad will travel to Qatar on Friday for talks with the CIA chief and other mediators as part of the latest push to release hostages from Hamas captivity.
Details were announced on Thursday by the Israeli prime minister’s office soon after the U.S. lodged a U.N. resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages.
Israel’s spy chief David Barnea will meet with the CIA’s Bill Burns—President Joe Biden’s top international troubleshooter—as well as the Qatari prime minister and Egypt’s intelligence minister.
Some 130 hostages are thought to still be held by Hamas terrorists in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
Hopes for a deal have risen and fallen on an almost weekly basis as Israel continues its offensive.
Israelis blows a shofar, a Jewish musical horn typically made of a ram’s horn, during mass prayer calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the October 7 attacks
Israel’s spy chief David Barnea (left), the head of Mossad, will meet with the CIA’s Bill Burns—President Joe Biden ‘s top international troubleshooter—in Qatar Friday
The impasse centers on Hamas demands that it will release hostages only as part of a deal that would end the war. Israel says it will only entertain a temporary pause.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Arabic broadcaster Al Hadath in Cairo: ‘I think the gaps are narrowing, and I think an agreement is very much possible.’
Israel launched its offensive after Hamas gunmen killed about 12000 Israelis on Oct. 7.
Since then, almost 32,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza health authorities.
International humanitarian organizations now say that the blockade and war has put the enclave on the brink of famine.
Blinken confirmed that the US had proposed a UN resolution.
‘We actually have a resolution that we put forward right now that’s before the United Nations Security Council that does call for an immediate ceasefire tied to the release of hostages, and we hope very much that countries will support that. I think that would send a strong message, a strong signal,’ he said.
The final text of the resolution, obtained by NBC News, expresses stronger language than earlier drafts. It outlines ‘the imperative of an immediate and sustained ceasefire to protect civilians on all sides,’ to allow for delivery of humanitarian aid ‘and towards that end unequivocally supports ongoing international diplomatic efforts to secure such a ceasefire in connection with the release of all remaining hostages.’
Smoke rises in the background following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, 21 March 2024. More than 31,500 Palestinians and over 1,300 Israelis have been killed, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry and the Israel Defense Forces
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Cairo, Egypt, for talks on Gaza to reach a ceasefire
US deputy ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told reporters that officials wanted a vote on resolution before the end of the week.
‘We think it is a good text,’ he said, according to the Associated Press.
‘Everyone should be able to get behind it.’
Last week, Hamas presented a Gaza ceasefire proposal to mediators and the U.S. which would have allowed the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for freedom for Palestinian prisoners, 100 of whom are serving life sentences.
The group said the initial release of Israelis would include women, children, elderly, and ill hostages in exchange for the release of 700-1000 Palestinian prisoners, according to the proposal. The release of Israeli ‘female recruits’ is included.
But that was tied to a permanent ceasefire, which was rejected by Israel.
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