Biden sending CIA chief to Egypt in latest push for Gaza hostage deal

CIA director Bill Burns is expected to travel to Cairo next week for meetings with Egyptian officials about the efforts to launch negotiations over a new deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, two US and Israeli officials say, Report informs referring to Axios.

Burns has been President Biden's point person in the efforts to secure a hostage deal and a pause in fighting. Sending him to Cairo puts pressure on Qatari and Egyptian mediators to press Hamas to agree to a reasonable deal.

US officials say the White House acknowledges that a hostage deal is the only way to get a ceasefire in Gaza. Biden said in televised remarks on Thursday that he is pushing hard for a deal.

Israel on Thursday told Egyptian and Qatari mediators that while it rejects most of Hamas' demands in its response to the latest hostage deal proposal, it is ready to launch negotiations based on the original proposal put forth two weeks ago, Israeli official previously told Axios.

That proposal was centered on a framework for a three-phase deal that included a six-week ceasefire and the release of a set number of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Hamas freeing 35 to 40 Israeli hostages in the first stage.

Hamas in its initial response to the plan laid out several demands, including multiple nonstarters for Israel.