US intelligence chief Bill Burns and his Israeli counterpart David Barnea left Qatar late Saturday following talks on a Gaza truce and hostage release deal, a source briefed on the talks told AFP. The CIA and Mossad chiefs “departed Doha to brief their respective teams back home on the latest round” of talks, the source said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions. “The talks focused on details and a ratio for the exchange of hostages and prisoners”, the knowledgeable source added, explaining that “technical teams remain in Doha”. US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have been engaged in weeks of behind-the-scenes talks in efforts to secure a second truce in the war between Israel and Hamas and the release of captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails.—AFP
