CIA Director Bill Burns returns to Qatar for meetings with Israeli and Egyptian counterparts

CIA Director Bill Burns visited Qatar on Tuesday for meetings with Qatari officials as well as his Israeli and Egyptian counterparts, according to multiple sources.

“Director Burns traveled to Doha for meetings about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, including continued discussions on the hostages,” a US official said.

Another person familiar with the trip said the CIA director would be joined in Doha by the director of Israel’s intelligence service Mossad, David Barnea, and the Director of Egyptian General Intelligence, Abbas Kamel.

Burns’ trip to Qatar comes after the truce was extended by two days, and with Americans still missing in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack.

Burns has been a central player in the Biden administration’s effort to negotiate a deal for Hamas to release hostages and has been in regular contact with Barnea, who was designated by the Israelis as the point person for hostage negotiations.

Burns was in Doha on November 9 meeting with Qatari leaders and Barnea to go over the “emerging arrangement,” a senior US administration official said. A week and a half later, Burns was called into a meeting in Doha led by the White House’s top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, as the finished touches were being put on the agreement that would see at least 50 hostages released over four days.

This story is breaking and will be updated.