American media reports that Director Burns of the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) will soon visit France and hold talks with high-ranking officials from Qatar, Egypt, and Israel, who are mediating the release of hostages held by the Islamic organization Hamas. I did.
However, it remains unclear whether negotiations between Israel and Hamas will progress.
On the 21st, the American news site Axios reported, citing Israeli government officials, that on the 23rd of this month, CIA Director Burns visited Paris, France, and high-ranking officials from Qatar, Egypt, and Israel will mediate for the release of the hostages. I told them I would discuss it with them.
In addition, multiple Biden administration officials have said that they hope to conclude negotiations between Israel and Hamas and achieve a cessation of fighting by the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, which begins around the 10th of next month.
Meanwhile, former Defense Minister Gantz, who is in Israel's wartime cabinet, expressed a positive outlook on the progress of negotiations, stating on the 21st that ``there are early signs of progress.''
However, he said, ``If a new deal is not reached, we will continue the operation during Ramadan,'' and reiterated his intention to launch a ground operation toward Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip if the hostages are not released by Ramadan. did.
Regarding negotiations, there remains a wide gap between Israel and Hamas over issues such as the duration of the cessation of fighting and the number of Palestinians to be released from Israeli prisons, and it remains unclear whether the negotiations will make any progress.