According to reports from Egyptian media, CIA Director William Burns, Mossad Director David Barnea and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani convened with Egyptian officials in Cairo on Tuesday to deliberate on a ceasefire agreement for Gaza.
CIA director William Burns, Mossad chief David Barnea and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani met Egyptian officials in Cairo Tuesday “to discuss a truce in Gaza,” Egyptian media reported.
Al Qahera News, which has links to Egyptian intelligence, reported the “quartet meeting” as international pressure grows for a truce between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, where health officials say more than 28,000 people have been killed.
Qatar and Egypt have been mediating between the warring parties with US support.
A proposal thrashed out with Israeli negotiators in Paris late last month has gone back and forth between the two sides.
“Hamas and the (other militant) factions are awaiting the outcome of the Cairo meetings, and Hamas is open to discussing any initiative that achieves an end to aggression and war,” a Hamas official told AFP on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.
“The sides are looking for a formula that will be acceptable to Hamas, which says it is only possible to sign a deal that is based on Israeli commitment to ending its war and pulling out its forces from the Gaza Strip,” a Palestinian official told Reuters.
The quest for a ceasefire comes after the United States and the United Nations warned Israel against carrying out a ground offensive into Rafah, the southernmost Gaza city where more than a million Palestinians are trapped.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
