CIA head to visit Qatar as Israeli reports downplay claims that hostage deal imminent
Bill Burns to meet with Qatari PM after delegations from Hamas, Israel held talks in Doha the previous two days; Trump envoy also expected there following his trip to Cairo

CIA Director Bill Burns is set to meet Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha on Wednesday, in an effort to bridge the remaining gaps between Israel and Hamas on a Gaza deal, sources with knowledge of the talks told Reuters on Tuesday.
The two will discuss progress toward a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and a hostage release deal, one of the sources said.
The CIA declined to comment on the reported meeting, which followed talks in Qatar on Tuesday that Hamas said were “serious and positive.” On Monday, an Israeli delegation flew to Doha to meet with mediators.
“Hamas affirms that, in light of the serious and positive discussions taking place today in Doha under the auspices of our Qatari and Egyptian brothers, reaching an agreement for a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange is possible if the occupation ceases to impose new conditions,” the Palestinian terror group said in a statement.
Along with the talks in Doha, negotiations are being held in Cairo, where sources briefed on the meeting told Reuters that an agreement could be signed in the coming days.
Mohamed al-Hind, the deputy head of Hamas ally Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said his Iran-backed terrorist organization, which is believed to hold some of the hostages taken during the October 2023 terror onslaught in southern Israel that started the war, had met with Egyptian officials to discuss the proposed deal.
US President-elect Trump’s recently-appointed hostage envoy, Adam Boehler, was also in Cairo Tuesday to meet with Egyptian officials on the efforts to secure an agreement, a source familiar with the matter said, confirming reporting by the Kan public broadcaster.

Boehler met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday and is slated to also travel to Doha for similar talks, the source said.
‘Been in this position before’
The US administration, joined by mediators from Egypt and Qatar, has made intensive efforts in recent days to advance the talks, with The Times of Israel reporting Monday that President Joe Biden has been working with Trump’s team to try to seal the deal before the inauguration on January 20.
The initiative has made progress, though major obstacles remain, three US, Israeli, and Arab officials have told The Times of Israel, despite various reports — mainly in Arabic media outlets and citing Palestinian sources — touting breakthroughs in the negotiations.
“We believe – and the Israelis have said this – that we’re getting closer, and no doubt about it, we believe that, but we also are cautious in our optimism,” White House spokesperson John Kirby said in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday.
“We’ve been in this position before where we weren’t able to get it over the finish line.”
Israeli sources cited by Hebrew media on Tuesday also sounded more skeptical, saying a deal was weeks away and still faced major hurdles.
The Walla news site, citing three unnamed senior Israeli sources familiar with the talks, said that while progress has been made in recent weeks, there were still big gaps between the sides, chiefly regarding Hamas’s insistence that any hostage deal lead to the end of the war.
“A deal isn’t around the corner,” one source was quoted as saying.

Another source criticized optimistic remarks made by senior officials such as Defense Minister Israel Katz, who reportedly told Knesset members on Monday that a deal was “closer than ever.”
“It doesn’t help the negotiations and also misleads the public and gives false hope,” the source said.
Similarly, Channel 12 news quoted unnamed senior Israeli sources as saying that, while Hamas has shown willingness to reach a deal, there are still considerable disagreements on core issues that will take time to overcome.
Additionally, a Palestinian source cited by the Kan public broadcaster said the reports of an imminent deal were “exaggerated and overly optimistic.”

Several waves of negotiations have stalled and failed to reach a sequel to an agreement reached in late November 2023, in which 105 hostages were released in a weeklong truce. Four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 38 hostages have been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors.
Israel believes that 96 of the 251 hostages kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, remain in the Strip, a figure that includes the bodies of at least 34 captives confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
Jacob Magid contributed to this report.