An Israeli delegation arrived in Paris on Friday for talks with senior officials from Egypt, Qatar and the United States, the latest attempt to advance a deal for a cease-fire with Hamas and the release of hostages held in Gaza, an Israeli official said on Friday.
The Mossad chief, David Barnea; the C.I.A. director, William Burns; the Qatari prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani; and Abbas Kamel, the head of Egyptian intelligence, are expected to attend the talks, according to a second Israeli official and a person briefed on the talks. All the officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the diplomatic developments.
Qatar and Egypt have been acting as intermediaries between Israel and Hamas, which do not negotiate directly.
The talks come a day after President Biden’s Mideast envoy met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials in Israel, part of a flurry of efforts to negotiate the release of hostages and a pause in the fighting. According to Israeli officials, about 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza. At least 30 others there are dead, officials believe.
On Tuesday, Hamas said that a delegation led by Ismail Haniyeh was in Cairo to meet with Egyptian officials to discuss efforts to end the war. On Thursday, Hamas issued a statement saying that Mr. Haniyeh had met with the Egyptian intelligence chief and aides, and had concluded his visit. The statement said that among the topics those talks addressed were ending the war, the return of displaced people to their homes, humanitarian aid, swapping hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and “what the occupation is planning at al-Aqsa Mosque” during Ramadan.
Efforts to secure a cease-fire deal have taken on greater urgency as the death toll from four months of war in the Gaza Strip nears 30,000 Palestinians, according to health officials there, and as Israel’s stated plan to invade Gaza’s southernmost city, Rafah, raises international alarm.
