Hamas attacks on Israel have killed around 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally (File)
Paris:
The CIA director and senior Egyptian, Qatari and Israeli officials were in Paris on Sunday to work on a ceasefire in Gaza, according to officials close to the attendees.
French authorities have also been in contact with the four countries with the aim of negotiating a cessation of hostilities between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in the besieged territory, sources said.
CIA Director William Burns will meet with his Israeli and Egyptian counterparts, as well as Qatar’s prime minister, “in the coming days,” a security source told AFP on Friday.
The sources confirmed a Washington Post report last week that U.S. President Joe Biden sent Burns to try to negotiate the release of Hamas’ remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for a ceasefire.
The New York Times said on Saturday that U.S.-led negotiators were closing in on an agreement under which Israel would suspend its war in Gaza for about two months in exchange for the release of more than 100 hostages.
The report quoted unnamed U.S. officials as saying negotiators had developed a draft agreement that would be discussed in Paris on Sunday.
U.S. President Joe Biden spoke to Qatar’s emir on Friday to discuss efforts to free hostages, the White House said, but warned that “near-term developments” were unlikely.
Qatar plays a key role in the latest negotiations after brokering the hostage release deal in November.
According to official AFP statistics, Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7 resulted in the death of about 1,140 people, most of whom were civilians.
The militants also held about 250 hostages, of which Israel said about 132 remained in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 28 dead prisoners.
Israel’s subsequent military offensive has killed at least 26,422 people in Gaza, the majority of whom were civilians, according to the Health Ministry of the Hamas-controlled region.
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