On Wednesday, CIA Director William J. Burns met with senior Qatari and Egyptian officials in the latest effort to mediate a deal to end the fighting in Gaza and release hostages. Burns held a meeting in Doha with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian General Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel, according to The New York Times, citing a knowledgeable source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
According to the same source, the Qatari Prime Minister and the head of Egyptian intelligence also met with Hamas leaders in Doha on the same day. The meeting with Burns focused on finding ways to bring Israel and Hamas closer to a ceasefire. The source added that "Qatar received a preliminary positive response from Hamas regarding the ceasefire proposal put forth by U.S. President Joe Biden last week, but it is still awaiting an official response."
However, in public, Netanyahu continued to insist that Israel would not stop fighting in Gaza until Hamas's military capabilities were destroyed. Two of Netanyahu's far-right ministers threatened to withdraw from his coalition and bring down his government if he agreed to any deal that left Hamas "intact." Amid these disagreements, a second source familiar with the negotiations indicated that Burns' visit to Doha was not expected to result in significant progress.
