Despite Netanyahu calling Hamas' ceasefire demands 'delusional', CIA, Mossad chiefs to hold talk today on hostage deal

With no end in sight in the Gaza war and multiple non-conclusive discussions to stop firing, the heads of the CIA and Israel’s Mossad spy agency are likely to meet with senior Egyptians and Qatari officials on Tuesday to discuss possible negotiations on a ceasefire deal and release of hostages held by Hamas.

A report by Financial Times cited people familiar with the process saying the negotiations will likely take place in Cairo and come as international pressure mounts on Israel to end its war in Gaza.

David Barnea, head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, and CIA chief Bill Burns most recently discussed with Qatari and Egyptian officials in Paris in January, during which they agreed to the framework deal calling for a six-week pause in hostilities for a hostage-prisoner swap. The arrangement, however, did not guarantee a permanent ceasefire.

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Mediators, as per the report, see Barnea’s plan to travel to Egypt as a sign that Israel was still open to discussions on a potential deal, despite Israeli Prime Minister Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rhetoric.

Last week, Netanyahu rejected Hamas’ demands of an agreement as “delusional” and vowed to press on for “total victory” in the war with the Palestinian terrorist group.

Hamas had proposed a four-and-a-half-month, or 135 days, ceasefire, during which the terrorist group said it would release the remaining hostages in phases in return for Israel freeing 1,500 Palestinian prisoners, including 500 serving life sentences. The proposal came in response to a framework agreement brokered by mediators in January.

Hamas also demanded that Israeli forces pull back from big urban centres in Gaza during the first phase of the truce and withdraw completely from the besieged strip in the second phase.

Meanwhile, the report cited a diplomat saying, “The discussions have been constructive and there’s a willingness to compromise. Barnea wouldn’t be going to the talks unless he had the go-ahead.”

The diplomat further said the critical sticking points were still the question of a permanent ceasefire — which mediators would also like to include at the end of any hostage deal — and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

But the mediators are hopeful they can secure compromises.

After Netanyahu rejected Hamas’ proposals, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said while there were some “clear non-starters” put forward by the terrorist group, “we do think it creates space for agreement to be reached and we will work at that relentlessly until we get there”.

‘Will do everything possible to broker ceasefire’

Despite Netanyahu’s rejection of Hamas’ ceasefire proposal, US President Joe Biden on Monday said he would do “everything possible” to broker a six-week ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the release of the hostages.

Biden even warned Israel its forces must not launch an offensive in Rafah, a crowded city of more than one million people near Gaza’s border with Egypt, “without a credible plan” to protect civilians.

The US President said this after he met with Jordan’s King Abdullah at the White House. During the meeting, Jordan’s king warned an Israeli offensive in Rafah would “produce another humanitarian catastrophe”.

“We cannot afford an Israeli attack on Rafah. The situation is already unbearable for more than a million people who have been pushed into Rafah since the war started. We cannot stand by and let this continue. We need a lasting ceasefire now,” King Abdullah said.

“The key elements of the deal are on the table,” Biden said on Monday. “There are gaps that remain,” he added, but he had “encouraged Israeli leaders to keep working to achieve the deal”.