Mossad chief visits Paris to discuss Gaza ceasefire

Mossad chief visits Paris to discuss Gaza ceasefire

According to Israeli media, an Israeli delegation led by the Mossad chief is traveling to Paris on Friday in the hope of “unlocking” talks on a new ceasefire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

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According to the same sources, Mossad (Israeli foreign intelligence agency) chief David Barnea and Shin Bet (domestic intelligence agency) Ronen Bar are flying to the French capital on Friday.

At the end of January, the Mossad chief met in Paris with his American and Egyptian counterparts as well as the Prime Minister of Qatar to discuss a new ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

An initial one-week ceasefire at the end of November enabled the release of more than a hundred hostages held by Hamas and 240 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.

According to a Hamas source, the plan discussed in Paris in late January included a six-week pause in fighting and the release of 200 to 300 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 35 to 40 hostages held by Hamas.

Since then, talks have also taken place in Egypt, where Hamas leader Ismaïl Haniyeh traveled on a “multi-day visit” that ended Thursday evening, according to the Palestinian Islamist movement.

According to Hamas, the talks focused on the situation in Gaza, the “end of Israeli aggression,” the “return of the displaced to their homes,” and an “exchange of prisoners.”

The Palestinian movement has been calling for a “complete ceasefire” and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza for weeks. These demands are described as “insane” by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who continues his military operation to “destroy” Hamas.

Mr. Netanyahu also rejects Hamas's demands for the release of prisoners who took part in anti-Israel attacks.

The war was sparked on October 7 by an unprecedented attack in Israel by Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza that killed more than 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on data from Israeli officials.

In retaliation, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas, which seized power in Gaza in 2007, and launched an offensive that left more than 29,000 dead in Palestinian territory, the vast majority of them civilians, according to Hamas's health ministry.