Gaza war: CIA chief says more detailed ceasefire proposal due in days

Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) DirectorWilliam Burns said on Saturday (Sep7) that a more detailed ceasefire proposal in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Stripwould be made in the next several days.

Burns is the chief US negotiator for an end to the war which has been going on since October 7 last year. Hesaid he was working very hard on "texts and creative formulas" with mediators Qatar and Egypt to secure a ceasefire, by finding a proposal which satisfies both parties.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

'Time has come to make hard choices...'

Speaking at a Financial Times event in London alongside MI6 headRichard Moore, Burns said, "We will make this more detailed proposal, I hope in the next several days, and then we'll see."

Burns addedthat it was a question of political will and he hoped leaders on both sides recognised "the time has come finally to make some hard choices and some difficult compromises".

"My hope is that you know, they'll recognise what's at stake here and be willing to move ahead on that basis," he said.

Gaza war enters 12th month

The war entered its 12th month on Saturday.Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023,killing 1,200 people and taking about 251hostages, according to Israeli tallies, while Israel's retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed nearly 41,000 Palestinians.

The US, Qatar and Egypt have all been mediating to bring about a ceasefire in the war.

Of the 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants during the attack, 97 remain inGaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.

Scores were released during a one-week truce in November.

Israel's announcement last Sunday that the bodies of six hostages including a US-Israeli citizen had been recovered shortly after being killed sparked grief and anger in Israel.

International pressure to end the war was further underlined by Friday's fatal shooting in the occupied West Bank of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was demonstrating against Israeli settlements in the territory.

(With inputs from agencies)