Israel to send negotiating team to Gaza cease-fire talks in Egypt

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel’s War Cabinet decided to send a negotiating team to Egypt to participate in talks for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli media on Sunday.

The negotiating team will be led by Mossad intelligence chief David Barnea, Israel Hayom newspaper reported.

The War Cabinet also expanded the mandate of the negotiating team during the Cairo cease-fire talks, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said, citing Israeli officials.

According to the broadcaster, the team will hold talks with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, CIA Director William Burns and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel in an attempt to make a breakthrough during the talks.

A Hamas delegation is also set to arrive in Egypt on Sunday for Gaza cease-fire talks, the Egyptian state-run Al-Qahera News channel reported.

US President Joe Biden recently sent two special letters to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani related to accelerating the cease-fire negotiations, a US administration official said Friday.

The official said Biden called on Egypt and Qatar in his letters to "pressure Hamas to accelerate cease-fire negotiations."

There was no comment from Cairo or Doha on the report.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack in early October by Hamas, which killed nearly 1,200 people.

Nearly 33,200 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 75,900 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which last week asked it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi