Mossad, CIA chiefs meet to discuss possible hostage release deal with Hamas

The head of Israeli spy agency Mossad met with the head of the CIA to discuss a possible hostage release deal with Hamas, the Israeli Premier's Office said on Saturday.

"Mossad Director David Barnea met yesterday with CIA Director William Burns in the framework of the relentless effort to advance an additional deal for the release of the hostages," Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on X.

Referring to Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which starts next week, the X posting claimed: "At this stage, Hamas is holding to its position as if it was uninterested in a deal and is striving to ignite the region during Ramadan at the expense of the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip."

"Contacts and cooperation with the mediators are ongoing in an effort to narrow the gaps and advance agreements," it added.

While the statement did not specify where the U.S. and Israeli spy chiefs met, Israeli news website Walla said their meeting was in Aqaba, Jordan.

Israel estimates that there are more than 125 hostages in Gaza, while it holds at least 8,800 Palestinians in its prisons, according to official sources from both sides.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attack led by Hamas, in which some 1,200 people were killed.

Nearly 31,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and over 72,500 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza's population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.