CIA director to discuss resumption of hostage and prisoner exchanges between Israel and Hamas

CIA Director William J. Burns will meet with Israeli and Qatari officials in Warsaw on Monday for talks aimed at resuming hostage and prisoner exchanges, US officials said.

Under a weeklong ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, 105 hostages were released last month in exchange for the release of Palestinians from Israeli prisons before negotiations collapsed and the war resumed on December 1. Since then, U.S. officials have made several proposals aimed at continuing the war. humanitarian releases or other exchanges.

Resuming talks has been complicated, with deepening disagreements over the terms of further exchanges.

After the deal fell apart, a US official said publicly that Hamas was “reneging” on an agreement to release all female hostages. A Hamas official said he considered some of the remaining female hostages to be soldiers.

Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hamas has failed to release as many hostages as promised while making more demands. Hamas had proposed deals that would release more Palestinians from Israeli prisons, including prominent prisoners. Israeli officials insisted they wanted to release all women and children before discussing further exchanges.

There are some reasons to believe that new conversations can be fruitful. After the accidental death of three hostages, shot by Israeli forces, the Israeli government is under increased pressure to secure the release of the remaining people held by Hamas and its allies in Gaza. The United States is also increasing pressure on Israel to scale back its major combat operations in Gaza and move to a new term in the war.

Mr. Burns meets with David Barnea, the head of Mossad, Israel’s spy agency. Mr. Barnea has led Israeli negotiating efforts, and the White House has asked Mr. Burns to work with him.

The two men will speak in Warsaw with Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani of Qatar. The Qataris host Hamas’s political wing in Doha and have worked to facilitate negotiations.

Neither Israel nor the US speak directly to the Hamas leadership, but instead work through the Qataris.

The resumption of talks was previously reported by Axios. A CIA spokeswoman declined to comment, citing CIA policy not to discuss the director’s travels.