Gaza: meeting between the heads of the CIA and Mossad in Europe over the weekend for negotiations on hostages and truce

CIA director William Burns will meet with Israeli Mossad chief David Barnea in Europe over the weekend in a bid to restart negotiations to release the Israeli hostages and reach a ceasefire agreement. This was reported by the US newspaper “The New York Times”.

Previously, two Israeli officials told the newspaper “The Times of Israel” that Burns, Barnea and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani will meet in the coming days in an attempt to revive talks for the release of the others Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. It will be the first new high-level meeting since negotiations broke down two weeks ago after Hamas responded to a proposal put forward by U.S., Qatari and Egyptian mediators with amendments deemed unacceptable by both the United States and Israel.

The proposal called for the gradual release of the then 125 remaining Israeli hostages, starting with the release of 33 abducted women, elderly and sick people during a six-week truce period. The second phase was supposed to include the release of the remaining hostages and talks on a permanent ceasefire. The bodies of the hostages held by Hamas would then be released during the third phase. Hamas’ response to the mediators’ proposals approved by Israel included several far-reaching amendments, including refusing to release 33 living hostages in the first phase, according to media reports.

The Israel Defense Forces find the bodies of three more hostages

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) found the bodies of three hostages in the northern Gaza Strip, during an operation that took place overnight in the Jabaliya area. This was reported by the IDF, according to which Orion Hernandez Radoux30 years, Hanan Yablonka42 years old, and Michel Nisenbaum59 years old, would have been killed on the day of the kidnapping, October 7, 2023. There are still 125 hostages in Gaza.

The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahuexpressed condolences to the families of the dead hostages and said: “We have a national and moral duty to do everything we can to bring the hostages home, both alive and dead, and that is what we are doing.”

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