Poland’s capital Warsaw will host Mossad chief David Barnea as he meets CIA director Bill Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Monday in continued efforts to broker a new deal to secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
The Ynet news site quoted a source involved as saying the talks would be “long, complicated and more difficult than before.”
The meeting in Warsaw comes three days after the Qatari PM and Barnea met in another European capital to try to relaunch indirect discussions between Israel and Hamas that are being mediated by Qatar, Axios reports.
Previous talks have made headway and seen a limited number of hostages released.
Qatar was a key mediator in the first hostage deal that saw 105 civilians released from Hamas captivity in Gaza: 81 Israelis, 23 Thai nationals and one Filipino.
For their part Israel released 240 Palestinian security prisoners, all women and minors.
It is believed that 129 hostages remain in Gaza — not all of them alive.
Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror organizations said Saturday evening that they would not agree to release further Israeli hostages until a complete and total ceasefire — effectively demanding that Israel abandon the war and accept defeat, as Breitbart News reported.
Hamas said in a statement quoted by the Abu Ali Express channel on Telegram: “Hamas emphasizes that its position is that there will be no negotiations for a prisoner release deal until the aggression against our people ceases completely. Hamas announced this position to all mediators.”
Palestinian Islamic Jihad said: “We are ready for a prisoner exchange deal only after a ceasefire and we stand by this condition.”