Gaza – French authorities have also been in contact with the four countries mentioned to discuss an end to hostilities between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian Hamas militants. Hamas in the besieged territories, sources claimed.
A security source told AFP that CIA director William Burns would meet his counterparts from Israel and Egypt and Qatar’s premier “in the coming days”.
The source confirmed published in The Washington Post last week that US President Joe Biden was sending Burns to negotiate for the release of Hamas’s remaining Israeli prisoners in exchange for a cease-fire.
The New York Times said on Saturday that negotiators from the US are getting closer to an agreement that stipulates Israel will suspend its conflict in Gaza for about two months in exchange in exchange for the return of more than 100 hostages.
Citing unidentified US officials, the source stated that negotiators had drafted an agreement draft that will be examined in Paris on Sunday.
US President Joe Biden on Friday spoke with the emir of Qatar to discuss efforts to release the hostages. The White House said, however, cautioned that “imminent developments” were unlikely.
Qatar is playing a significant part in the recent discussions after brokering the release of hostages in November.
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The terrorist attack of Hamas against Israel was responsible for around 1,140 deaths, primarily civilians, as per an AFP count of figures released by the government.
Militants also took about 250 hostages. Israel estimates that around 132 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at most 28 dead prisoners.
Israel’s military operation has claimed the lives of at least 26,422 people, the majority of them civilians in Gaza, as per the health ministry of the Hamas-controlled region.
