The head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), who is also the chief US negotiator for an end to the Gaza war and release of hostages held by Hamas, said a more detailed ceasefire proposal would be made in the next several days, The Straits Times reports.
After 11 months of conflict in Gaza, CIA director William Burns said he was working very hard on “texts and creative formulas” with mediators Qatar and Egypt to secure a ceasefire, by finding a proposal which satisfies both parties.
“We will make this more detailed proposal, I hope in the next several days, and then we’ll see,” said Mr Burns, speaking at a Financial Times event in London alongside Mr Richard Moore, head of Britain’s MI6 foreign spy agency, in an unprecedented joint public appearance.
Mr Burns added that it was a question of political will, and he hoped leaders on both sides recognised “the time has come finally to make some hard choices and some difficult compromises”.
He said 90 per cent of the paragraphs had been agreed, but the last 10 per cent were always the hardest.
“My hope is that, you know, they’ll recognise what’s at stake here and be willing to move ahead on that basis,” he said.
Hamas attacked Israel on Oct 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies, while Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed nearly 41,000 people, Gaza’s health authorities have said, largely levelling the coastal enclave.
