US media reported on Friday that CIA Director Bill Burns will visit Cairo, Egypt’s capital, this weekend to hold discussions on the release of hostages held in Gaza.
According to The New York Times, Burns will meet with officials from Egypt and Qatar in addition to Mossad chief David Bernea. According to Axios, the officials were Egypt’s chief intelligence officer Abbas Kamel and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.
An AFP count based on Israeli official numbers puts the number of Israelis and foreigners killed in Hamas’ October 7 shock strike at 1,170, largely civilians.
Additionally, about 250 captives were taken by Palestinian Hamas; roughly 130 of them are still in Gaza, including 34 who the Israeli army claims are dead.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza claims that over 33,000 Palestinians have died as a result of Israel’s retaliatory attack, the majority of them were women and children.
Weeks of secret negotiations between the US, Qatar, and Egypt aim to negotiate a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of Israeli captives in return for Palestinian detainees being housed in Israeli prisons.
