The head of Israel’s foreign intelligence service Mossad, David Barnea, is in Rome for indirect talks about a ceasefire in the Gaza war. He met with CIA chief William Burns, Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamel in the Italian capital, an Israeli representative confirmed.

The indirect talks between Israel and the Islamist Hamas, in which the USA, Qatar and Egypt are mediating, have been very slow for months. Since May, they have revolved around a multi-stage plan by US President Joe Biden, which ultimately envisages a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza war. In addition, the hostages held by Hamas are to be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.

The first phase of Biden’s plan envisages a ceasefire of around six weeks. During this period, a certain group of hostages would be released. According to Israeli figures, Hamas has 115 of them in its power, but many of them are probably no longer alive.

In return, Palestinians imprisoned in Israel would be released. In the next phase, the fighting would then cease permanently and the remaining hostages would be released. In a final phase, the draft states that the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip would begin. Most recently, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formulated additional conditions that are likely to be unacceptable to Hamas.

The Gaza War was triggered by the unprecedented massacre with 1,200 deaths that the Islamists of Hamas, together with other groups from the Gaza Strip, committed in southern Israel on October 7 of the previous year.