Israel’s spymaster heads to Egypt for Gaza cease-fire talks

An Israeli delegation led by the country’s intelligence chief flew to Egypt on Saturday seeking to make progress on long-stalled talks over a possible Gaza truce, Israeli officials familiar with the matter said.

The visit is aimed at pursuing negotiations for a cease-fire in the almost 10-month-old war with Hamas, which could free some hostages held by the Iran-backed terrorist group, the officials said, asking not to be identified citing the sensitivity of the matter.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, which oversees Mossad, did not immediately comment on the trip by David Barnea, the spy agency’s director. Authorities in Egypt, which has acted as a key mediator in Israel-Hamas negotiations, weren’t immediately available for comment.

Any progress toward a cease-fire could help reduce the scale of reprisals that Hamas, its ally Hezbollah and their sponsor Iran have threatened for the killing this week of senior leaders in Beirut and Tehran.

But Israel’s demonstration of willingness to return to cease-fire talks also is a bold move because Iran and its proxies blame it for killing a top negotiator for their side.

Ismail Haniyeh, the Palestinian faction’s political leader, was killed in the Iranian capital Tehran last week. Both Hamas and the Islamic Republic have blamed Israel for Haniyeh’s assassination, but Israel hasn’t acknowledged responsibility.

On Friday, Netanyahu’s office said Israel and Hamas remained divided over several elements of the proposed truce, which is backed by the U.S.

Israel maintains its forces should remain stationed along the border that separates the Palestinian enclave from neighboring Egypt and that a mechanism should be established to prevent Hamas fighters from returning to northern Gaza.

Another sticking point is the number of hostages to be released by the group, which is believed to be holding over 100 people captive. Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., raided southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping around 250 others.

The terrorist group wants any truce deal to eventually bring to an end the war in Gaza, where more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the war, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.

Israel has been on alert for a sharp escalation of tensions with Iran and the terrorist groups backed by Tehran following last week’s assassinations. Hezbollah has pledged to retaliate after Israel assassinated Fuad Shukr, a senior commander of the terrorist group, in Lebanon on Tuesday.