U.S., Israel intel chiefs leave Qatar after talks on Gaza truce and hostage release

U.S. intelligence chief Bill Burns and his Israeli counterpart David Barnea left Qatar late on Saturday following talks on a Gaza truce and hostage release deal, a source briefed on the talks said.

The CIA and Mossad chiefs “departed Doha to brief their respective teams back home on the latest round” of talks, the source said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity discussions.

“The talks focused on details and a ratio for the exchange of hostages and prisoners”, the knowledgeable source added, explaining that “technical teams remain in Doha”.

U.S., Qatari and Egyptian mediators have been engaged in weeks of behindthescenes talks in efforts to secure a second truce in the war between Israel and Hamas, and the release of captives in exchange for Palestinian pri

U.S., Qatari and Egyptian mediators have been engaged in weeks of talks to secure a truce

of the soners being held in Israeli jails.

Israel had said on Friday that the head of its spy agency was to return to Doha for his second trip in a week after talks were restarted following failed efforts to secure a truce before the Muslim holy month of Ramzan, which began last week.

The war began when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack from Gaza that left about 1,160 dead in Israel, mostly civilians.

Israel’s military has waged a retaliatory offensive against Hamas that has killed 32,226 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Palestinian militants seized about 250 Israeli and foreign hostages during the October 7 attack on Israel but close to 130 still remain in Gaza.