Upon his arrival in Israel, on Sunday evening, Burns met with Mossad chief David Barnea, and is expected to meet today, Monday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In addition to Israel, the CIA director’s tour includes several countries in the region, including Egypt, Jordan, and Qatar. And the Emirates.

CIA Director William Burns began discussions in Israel about the war on Gaza, the issue of those detained by Hamas, and preventing the expansion of the scope of the confrontation that has been ongoing for about a month.

Upon his arrival in Israel, on Sunday evening, Burns met with Mossad chief David Barnea, and is expected to meet today, Monday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In addition to Israel, the CIA Director's tour includes several countries in the region, including Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and the UAE.

The New York Times quoted American officials as saying that the United States is looking forward to expanding the exchange of intelligence information with Israel, noting that Burns will discuss during his tour the situation in Gaza, negotiations to release detainees, and preventing the expansion of the war in the region.

The newspaper said that the visit of the American official comes in light of American efforts to push Israel to make its operations against the Hamas movement in Gaza more specific, allow the truce to bring in aid, and make a greater effort to avoid targeting civilians.

The New York Times quoted an American official as saying that one of the goals of Burns' tour is to strengthen American commitment to intelligence cooperation with partners, noting his long experience in the region.

The CIA Director's tour coincides with a new tour by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in the region.

The administration of US President Joe Biden has repeatedly confirmed that it opposes the ceasefire on the grounds that it will serve the interests of the Hamas movement, and instead supports “our humanitarian truces,” and Biden spoke about making progress towards reaching a truce.