US Central Intelligence Agency Director Bill Burns will join hostage talks in Qatar on Friday as negotiators work toward a deal that would secure the release of hostages held in Gaza alongside a temporary ceasefire, sources familiar with the plans said on Thursday.
The head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, David Barnea, will travel to Qatar Friday for the talks, Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement on Thursday.
Barnea will meet with Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamel, according to the statement.
“The meeting of senior officials will be held in the framework of the negotiations in Doha, the goal of which is to advance the efforts to return the hostages,” it said.
CNN has asked the CIA for comment.
Burns has been instrumental in trying to secure a deal on hostages, traveling several times to the Middle East and Europe for talks. The efforts have not yet yielded an agreement.
There were signs, however, that progress was being made, and US officials voiced cautious optimism this week that a deal could be reached.
In an interview on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the negotiations to secure a ceasefire and hostage deal are “getting closer.”
“I think the gaps are narrowing, and I think an agreement is very much possible,” Blinken said in an interview with Saudi news channel Al Hadath in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
