The head of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) will attempt to seal a prisoner-captive exchange and temporary truce deal between Hamas and Israel.
CIA Director William Burns will discuss the fine details of an emerging agreement when he meets in France on Sunday with David Barnea, head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel for talks centred on negotiations for a prisoner-captive swap.
Burns is in Paris for the high-level talks after White House senior adviser Brett McGurk spent much of the last week in the Middle East for talks. If Burns sees progress, President Biden is expected to dispatch McGurk back to the region quickly to try and complete an agreement.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to continue the attack on Gaza until complete victory over Hamas is achieved – a scenario far from fruition.