CIA Director Burns helping broker another deal to release hostages from Hamas

CIA Director William Burns is helping President Biden with efforts toward a deal to release the remaining hostages held by the militant group Hamas in Gaza amid Israel’s ongoing war in the territory.

“He has been … involved in helping us with the hostage deal that was in place and trying to help us pursue another one,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Thursday.

Kirby said discussions about trying to get a renewed hostage deal have been “sober and serious” and noted that White House adviser Brett McGurk is currently in the Middle East working on a deal.

Burns, who was involved in the effort to secure the Hamas hostages in November, is expected to travel to Europe for talks with the Israelis and Egyptians, according to reporting from The Washington Post.

The CIA declined to comment when asked to confirm the director’s travel.

Burns traveled to Doha, Qatar, for the November deal, which led a weeklong pause in fighting during which Hamas released more than 100 hostages and Israel released more than 200 Palestinian prisoners. That deal took five weeks of intense negotiations between the White House, Qatar, Israel and Hamas.

For that deal, Burns in October began speaking regularly with director of Mossad, David Barnea, to whom Israel had delegated authority to negotiate.

The pause in fighting lasted from Nov. 24 to Dec. 1 [when Hamas broke the pause with continuing missile attacks and other terrorist operations within Israel.]

Hamas took almost 250 hostages during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which left about 1,200 Israelis dead. The first phase of the hostage deal was structured for women and children to be released and was considered at the time to include an expectation for future releases. <Source>

Biden to deploy CIA director to help broker major Gaza deal

William Burns is looking to close gaps between Israel and Hamas on a deal that includes the release of all hostages in Gaza and a two-month cease-fire

Israel’s latest proposal includes a 60-day pause in fighting in exchange for the phased release of the more than 100 captives, beginning with civilian women and children and followed by civilian men, military women and men, and the remains of those who have died since their abduction. Such a pause would allow Israel to continue fighting after the two-month lull in line with Netanyahu’s vow to achieve “total victory” by destroying Hamas.

The Israelis also have proposed that senior Hamas leaders agree to leave Gaza, but one official familiar with the negotiations said the idea was a nonstarter for the group and its military leaders, who are prepared to die as martyrs in the Palestinian enclave. Hamas also rebuffed Israel’s 60-day pause proposal, saying the next hostage release should involve a permanent cease-fire, the official said.

[HAMAS has broken every cease-fire they ever agreed to--their word is worthless.]

But multiple officials said negotiations on those key points remain active. <Source>