Heads of Mossad and CIA Discussed Hostage Release and Pause in Gaza Attacks with Qatar's Prime Minister

(Patria) - The heads of the CIA and Mossad met with the Prime Minister of Qatar on Thursday in Doha to discuss the parameters of a deal for the release of hostages and a pause in the fighting between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip, a source familiar with the meeting told Reuters. The outcome of the talks remained unknown.

Qatar, which hosts several Hamas political leaders, has been leading efforts to mediate between Hamas and Israeli officials on the release of hostages taken by Hamas militants when they stormed into Israel on October 7, killing 1,400 people.

David Barnea, head of Israel's Mossad intelligence service, CIA Director William Burns, and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani held the meeting after Qatari mediators met with officials from Hamas's political office on Wednesday evening and discussed potential deal parameters.

The advantage of the trilateral meeting was to bring all three sides together at one table in real-time to speed up the process, the source said.

The talks also included a discussion on allowing humanitarian fuel imports into Gaza, which Israel has so far refused, saying it should not be diverted to Hamas for combat purposes.

The source told Reuters on Wednesday that the talks touched upon the release of 10 to 15 hostages in exchange for a one- to two-day humanitarian pause in the war devastating Gaza, where over 10,000 people, 40 percent of whom are children, have been killed in Israeli attacks.