The director of the CIA William Burns is en route to Doha for an urgent meeting with the prime minister of Qatar, a US official said today.
“Burns is on his way to Doha for an urgent meeting with the Qatari prime minister with the aim of putting greater pressure on Israel and Hamas to resume negotiations,” the official said.
A delegation of Hamas negotiators is preparing to leave for Doha after a meeting with Egyptian mediators in Cairo on the truce plan “concluded,” an official with the Islamist group told AFP.
“The meeting with the Egyptian intelligence minister has ended, the Hamas delegation will leave for Doha to continue consultations” with the movement’s leadership, the unnamed Hamas official said.
Hopes for the prospect of a truce agreement between Israel and Hamas at talks in Cairo have dwindled in recent days as the two sides’ differences have become apparent, notably over the implementation of a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
In particular, Hamas repeated its demand for an end to the war in exchange for the release of the Israeli hostages only to receive a categorically negative response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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