Israel said on Saturday its spy chief met with his US counterpart to discuss securing the release of hostages held in Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s press office said in a statement the head of Mossad met with the head of the CIA in order to “advance another hostage release deal.”
The statement came as mediators are making efforts for a new truce to the war in Gaza before Ramadan, which could begin as soon as Sunday.
Israel has not sent a further delegation to the most recent ceasefire talks in Cairo, and Hamas left on Thursday after showing dissatisfaction with Israel’s positions.
The statement from Netanyahu’s office said, “At this stage, Hamas is entrenching its positions like someone who is not interested in a deal and is striving to inflame the region during Ramadan at the expense of Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip.”
US President Joe Biden this week warned “Israel and Jerusalem could be very, very dangerous” if a truce deal was not reached before Ramadan.
A spokesman from Hamas’s armed wing has called on Palestinians to mobilize and “crawl” towards the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem and the location has been a hot spot for violence in the past.
Israeli Rear Admiral Hagari said Hamas was “preventing a humanitarian ceasefire and continues to increase the suffering of Gaza’s population.”
“It should be noted that contacts and cooperation with the mediators are continuing all the time in an attempt to bring a reduction of the differences and advance agreements,” Saturday’s statement said.
