Negotiations in Cairo for an agreement on a temporary cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages held by Hamas, which took place the previous day, have been extended for three more days due to a lack of progress, the New York Times (NYT) reported, citing an Egyptian official. At the same time, he said, discussions on the agreement were proceeding in a "positive tone."
At the end of the first day of negotiations, the participants in the meeting had not reached an agreement, NYT and Reuters report. An interlocutor told the NYT that the key issue in the parties' discussions concerned the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released from Israeli jails in exchange for hostages. According to the US official, the next three days of talks will take place at a lower level.
On the first day, CIA Director William Burns and David Barnea, head of Israel's Mossad intelligence service, participated in the talks. They met with senior officials from Egypt and Qatar, which are mediating the talks.
As Axios reports, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is willing to release three Palestinian prisoners in exchange for one hostage - the same scheme in place during the November 2023 ceasefire. According to the newspaper, in a telephone conversation, US President Joe Biden urged the Israeli prime minister to show flexibility and release more prisoners to make the deal happen. / BGNES
