CIA Director William Burns arrived in Cairo, Egypt, on Friday for the latest round of high-stakes negotiations on a ceasefire and hostage deal between Hamas and Israel, CBS officials told CBS News. News two American officials and a source close to the matter.
The visit follows a series of technical discussions and a new proposal from Israel that U.S. officials described as “generous.”
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Egyptian intelligence officials, alongside senior Qatari and US negotiators, have for months facilitated the talks, which in recent weeks have taken on new urgency amid an imminent Israeli ground invasion of Rafah, in southern Gaza, where more than 1.4 million Palestinians have taken refuge.
Burns’ arrival signals that negotiators could be closing in on a critical window that could be decisive for a potential deal. It was not immediately clear whether negotiators from Israel and Qatar would join Burns in Cairo, as they had in previous rounds.
A person familiar with the progress of the talks said there had been “some progress” but the parties were still in a wait-and-see attitude.
The CIA declined to comment on Burns’ trip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had “nothing to say.”
US officials have publicly warned against an invasion of Rafah without a credible humanitarian plan. Earlier this week, Netanyahu said Israel would invade the city whether or not a hostage deal was reached.
Speaking from Israel on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. position on Rafah was “clear” and would not change.
“We cannot and will not support a major military operation in Rafah without an effective plan to ensure that civilians are not harmed and no, we have not seen such a plan,” Blinken said.
He also urged Hamas to accept the deal: “There is no time to delay. There is no time for further bargaining. The deal is there. They should accept it.”
The talks have faced repeated obstacles in recent weeks over the number and type of hostages to be released and the length of the accompanying pause in hostilities.
Hamas militants have taken more than 240 hostages and killed more than 1,200 Israelis during their deadly rampage across southern Israel. October 7, 2023. Israel’s military response, now in its sixth month, has resulted in the deaths of more than 34,000 Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children, according to local health authorities.
An estimated 133 hostages remain held in Gaza, and five of those missing are U.S. citizens. Last week Hamas released videos proving life for two of the Americans, Hersh Goldberg Polin and Keith Siegel. In the propaganda videos, we see the two hostages speaking in front of the camera under duress. Siegel pressed the Israeli government to reach a deal.
The Israeli government has become increasingly concerned in recent days that the International Criminal Court could issue arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, including Netanyahu, for possible war crimes in Gaza.
In an interview with CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell last month, Burns, a former diplomat and veteran negotiator, said the months-long talks felt like “pushing a very large rock up a very steep hill“, although he said the United States believed Hamas was “capable of releasing a number of hostages right now.”
“I think the region desperately needs this kind of ceasefire,” Burns said.
Arden Farhi, Justine Redman and Camilla Schick contributed to this report.
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