Negotiations between Israel and Hamas Reaching an agreement on the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip is expected to resume next week, two sources with knowledge told CBS News on Saturday. Negotiators from Qatar, Egypt and the United States will be part of the talks.
“There is progress,” a senior Biden administration official told CBS News. “Contacts are ongoing and we are working closely with Egyptian and Qatari mediators. These contacts will continue over the coming week as we seek to move the negotiation process forward.”
CIA Director William Burns traveled to Paris last week as part of a high-level effort to revive hostage talks, which had collapsed in recent weeks.
Inside Israel, hostage families continue to pressure the politically embattled Netanyahu government to reach a diplomatic deal with Hamas to bring their loved ones home after nearly eight months of captivity. About 120 hostages are still believed to be held, including five U.S. citizens.
Hamas has pressured Israel for a lasting ceasefire in Gaza.
An earlier round of negotiations in Cairo ended in early May without significant progress, although U.S. officials were optimistic that differences between Israel and Hamas could be overcome. Burns led the American delegation in Egypt and maintains contact with David Barnea, head of Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence service.
A source in the region indicated that progress was made during Friday’s meeting in Paris with Burns, Barnea and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. Two U.S. officials indicated their work in Paris will help move all sides closer to resuming hostage negotiations.
During a speech at West Point on Saturday, President Joe Biden said the US is engaged in “urgent diplomacy to [an] immediate ceasefire that brings hostages home.”
On Friday, the White House announced that Biden discussed “new initiatives” with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to secure the release of hostages, along with an “immediate and lasting ceasefire” in Gaza.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with the Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz on Friday. The State Department spokesperson said it included a discussion of “the latest efforts to reach a ceasefire as part of an agreement to release hostages and to prevent the conflict from spreading over the region is expanding.”
The war in Gaza followed a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, which killed about 1,200 people, about a quarter of them soldiers, while another 250 were captured. At least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry, which makes no distinction between fighters and civilians.
Michal Ben-Gal, Kristin Brown and Arden Farhi contributed reporting.
Margaret Brennan
