A round of talks was held in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Tuesday evening, with the participation of the Director of the US Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, the Prime Minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, the head of the Mossad, David Barnea, on Tuesday, and Egyptian officials, to discuss a deal. New prisoner exchange with Hamas.

Commenting on the Cairo talks, an Israeli official said, “The main gap remaining in the negotiations is the large number of prisoners that Hamas is demanding in exchange for the kidnapped,” noting that “the talks ended without paving the way, but progress was recorded in understanding the gaps that must be filled in order to enter into a peace agreement negotiations leading to a deal according to what was reported by the Walla website.

According to the Israeli official, “the main gap relates to the number of prisoners that Hamas demands for each Israeli kidnapped, especially the captured male and female soldiers,” explaining that “the meeting was good and in-depth in understanding the remaining gaps, especially with regard to the prisoners, and all participating parties are making a great effort in an attempt to bridge the gap.” 

He considered that "if Hamas does not significantly reduce the number of prisoners it requests, there will be no progress in the negotiations, as Egypt and Qatar are scheduled to hold talks with Hamas in the coming days and understand whether they are willing to be flexible in order to enter into further negotiations." 

The talks in Cairo ended this evening and the Israeli delegation left Egypt, while Al-Arabi TV quoted an Egyptian source as saying, “The current round of negotiations in Cairo regarding the truce in Gaza will last two or three days.”

Meanwhile, the official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported on Tuesday evening that the Cairo meetings ended amid Hamas’s insistence on its position to end the war on the Gaza Strip.

According to the Commission, the Israeli delegation left Cairo on its way back to Tel Aviv, while no statement was issued by the parties to the meeting or by the Hamas movement.

The authority quoted an unnamed Israeli political official as saying, “Hamas’ position has not changed and the movement still insists on stopping the war, which Israel has not accepted,” without further details.

The commission said that, during the past few days, Netanyahu rejected a framework for a new prisoner exchange agreement presented to him by the heads of Mossad and Shin Bet, without clarifying its details.

It continued: "This is why the Israeli delegation went to Cairo empty-handed."

For its part, the private Hebrew Channel 13 quoted an unnamed Israeli official, saying that a dispute broke out last night between the political and security elite in Israel over the delegation’s participation in the Cairo talks.

It pointed out that this dispute prompted Coordinator of Prisoners and Missing Persons Nitzan Alon to remain in Israel and not travel to Egypt.

According to the same official, the Israeli delegation’s arrival in Cairo was aimed at holding “courtesy talks at the request of US President Joe Biden.”

It indicated that Netanyahu sent his political advisor to ensure that the Mossad chief did not exceed his powers in Cairo.