CIA Director William Burns in Egypt for high-stakes Israeli hostage, cease-fire talks
Source: CBS News
Updated on: May 3, 2024 / 3:09 PM EDT
CIA Director William Burns arrived in Cairo, Egypt, Friday for the latest round of high-stakes negotiations over a hostage and cease-fire deal between Hamas and Israel, two U.S. officials and a source familiar with the matter told CBS News. The visit follows a stretch of technical talks and a fresh proposal from Israel that U.S. officials have described as "generous."
Egyptian intelligence officials, alongside senior Qatari and American negotiators, have been for months facilitating the talks, which in recent weeks have taken on new urgency amid a looming Israeli ground invasion of Rafah, in southern Gaza, where more than 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering.
Burns' arrival signals negotiators may be nearing a critical window that could be decisive for a potential agreement. It was not immediately clear whether negotiators from Israel and Qatar were expected to join Burns in Cairo, as they did in previous rounds.
A person familiar with the status of the talks said there had been "some progress," but parties were still in a wait-and-see mode.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cia-director-william-burns-in-egypt-israeli-hostage-cease-fire-talks/
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