CIA chief arrives in Qatar after quietly spending day in Egypt to push mediators on hostage deal

US Central Intelligence Agency Director Bill Burns has reportedly arrived in Qatar after quietly spending the past day in Egypt, as the Biden administration makes what may be a last-ditch attempt to secure a hostage agreement before Ramadan begins at the beginning of next week.

The talks appeared to reach an impasse earlier today as a Hamas delegation left Cairo without any breakthrough reported in the talks being brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the US.

Burns was not planning to make a stop in Israel during his regional tour, a US official told CNN, adding that there was also not slated to be another four-way meeting in Doha with the intelligence chiefs from the US, Egypt and Israel along with Qatar’s prime minister.

CNN said hopes were fading for a deal to be reached before Ramadan but the Walla news site said US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told visiting hostage families in Washington on Wednesday that the US would continue working to secure a deal even after the holy month begins around Monday.

Sullivan told the families that the deal on the table was reasonable and that the US would continue to try and put pressure on Hamas via Egypt and Qatar over the weekend, Walla said.

An Israeli official told the Ynet news site, though, that Jerusalem’s assessment is that Hamas has made a decision to stonewall and allow the war to continue into Ramadan.