CIA Director William Burns is expected to travel to Cairo, Egypt, this weekend for a new round of hostage talks with senior Egyptian, Qatari and Israeli officials, multiple sources in the States tell CBS News -United and in the region close to the file.
The negotiations mark the latest effort to reach a deal that has remained elusive for months. U.S. officials have been pushing for a six-week ceasefire that would allow for a gradual release of hostages and a concomitant release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, as well as other conditions, including an influx of humanitarian aid into Gaza .
The last round follows a tense call between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday, during which the president insisted on an immediate ceasefire that would pave the way for a broader agreement. According to a senior administration official, the two leaders discussed the importance of fully empowering Israeli negotiators to reach an agreement that, in its first phase, would guarantee the release of women, the elderly, the sick and injured hostages.
On Friday, Mr. Biden wrote letters to the president of Egypt and the emir of Qatar on the status of negotiations and urged them to obtain commitments from Hamas to accept and abide by a deal.
On Sunday, when talks are expected to resume, it will mark the sixth month since the October 7 attacks, when thousands of Hamas militants stormed Israel’s southern border, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 250 others. Five Americans are believed to be among those captured by Hamas or militant groups associated with Gaza. Protests are planned for Sunday in New York, Washington and Israel to call for a diplomatic agreement to free the hostages.
Burns, a career diplomat before being tapped to run the CIA, was sent repeatedly by the Biden administration to lead successive rounds of negotiations with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the head of Egyptian intelligence Abbas Kamel and senior Israeli intelligence officials David Barnea. of the Mossad and Ronen Bar of the Shin Bet. The only prior agreement, reached in November, lasted just over a week and resulted in the release of more than 100 Israeli hostages and more than 200 Palestinian prisoners.
This CIA declined to comment on the director’s travels.
The Special Presidential Envoy for Hostages (SPEHA), Roger Carstens, was also scheduled to travel to Israel on Friday to meet with officials. Multiple officials told CBS News that Biden officials, including national security adviser Jake Sullivan, will meet with hostage families in Washington, D.C., on Monday.
Brett McGurk, White House Middle East and North Africa coordinator, played a key role in arranging this first temporary pause in fighting and hostage exchange and will remain at the White House for the hostage meetings next week.
Sara Cook contributed to this report.
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