Bill Burns will speak with Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the prime minister of Qatar, about indirect talks between Israel and Hamas.
Bill Burns, the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), is scheduled to visit Doha, the capital of Qatar, on Wednesday to talk about the most recent progress in ceasefire and prisoner exchange talks between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian resistance group.
According to the US news site Axios, which cited a person familiar with the travel, Burns is scheduled to meet with Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the prime minister and foreign minister of Qatar.
The talks will center on Qatar-facilitated indirect talks between Israel and Hamas.
According to a US official who spoke to the media outlet, Brett McGurk, US President Joe Biden’s Middle East adviser, is already in Doha, holding discussions with officials from Qatar, Egypt, and Israel.
An Israeli delegation with “limited authority” flew to Doha for talks on a ceasefire and prisoner exchange in Gaza, according to a report released Monday by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (KAN).
There has been progress in reaching an agreement with Hamas, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated on Tuesday.
In a written statement released that same day, Hamas called the current talks in Qatar “serious and positive.”
The resistance group went on to say that if Israel stops adding additional requirements, an agreement might be finalized.
Israel estimates that there are only 100 Israeli detainees in Gaza, despite the fact that prisoners’ organizations claim that more than 10,000 Palestinians are housed in its jails.
33 prisoners have reportedly been killed by indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, according to Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to end the conflict in Gaza has prevented mediation attempts spearheaded by the US, Egypt, and Qatar to achieve a truce from succeeding thus far.
More than 45,000 people have been slain in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since an October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, the majority of them were women and children.
