US, Egypt, Israel spy chiefs to attend Gaza truce talks in Doha

Negotiations to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza war will resume in Doha on Wednesday, with the intelligence chiefs of Egypt, the United States (US), and Israel in attendance, Egypt’s state-affiliated Al-Qahera News TV and sources said on Tuesday.

The Egyptian security delegation in Doha, led by intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, will be “on a mission to bring viewpoints closer between Hamas and Israel in order to reach a truce agreement as soon as possible”, Al-Qahera News quoted a senior source as saying.

“There is an agreement over many points,” the source said, adding the negotiations will be back in Cairo on Thursday.

Israel’s spy chief David Barnea will also attend the meeting, a source close to the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office declined comment to a Reuters query.

US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns will also attend, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, after he met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo on Tuesday.

Sisi affirmed in the meeting the Egyptian position “rejecting the continuation of military operations in the Gaza Strip,” the presidency said in a statement.

Egypt and Qatar have been spearheading mediation in the nine-month-old war between Israel and Hamas in hopes of ending the fighting and securing the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

Senior US officials were in the region to push for a ceasefire after Hamas made concessions last week, but the Palestinian group said a new Israeli assault on Gaza on Monday threatened truce talks at a crucial moment, and it urged mediators to rein in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Sisi stressed in his meeting with Burns the need to take “serious and effective steps” to prevent the expansion of the Gaza conflict in the wider region, the presidency added.