UDPATE - CIA chief to meet officials from Israel, Qatar, and Egypt in Rome for Gaza cease-fire talks

UPDATES WITH AL-QAHERA NEWS REPORTS

By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) - CIA Director William Burns will meet with senior officials from Israel, Qatar, and Egypt in the Italian capital of Rome on Sunday, according to a report on Friday.

The meeting aims to advance negotiations, resolve remaining differences, and pave the way for a final cease-fire agreement in Gaza, said the Axios news website, citing anonymous US and Israeli officials.

Burns will meet with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani, Mossad Director David Barnea, and Egyptian spy chief Abbas Kamel, the report said.

No official sources confirmed or denied the report as of Friday afternoon.

"The meeting is part of the mediators' efforts to reach a cease-fire agreement," Egypt's state-affiliated Al-Qahera News channel quoted an unnamed high-profile source as saying.

The source didn't provide further details but said Israel's Mossad chief David Barnea will attend the meeting.

Israeli negotiators are reportedly not hopeful for a breakthrough in Rome, citing US President Joe Biden's pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as ineffective in softening Netanyahu's new tough demands.

"Netanyahu wants a deal that is impossible to get," an Israeli official told Axios.

Netanyahu is on a trip to the US and reportedly discussed his new demands with Biden on Thursday.

On Thursday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome.

Egypt and Qatar have been leading mediation efforts, working to broker a phased cease-fire proposal involving Hamas to release hostages in exchange for an Israeli troop withdrawal.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this story