US Intelligence Officer Says Gaza's Armistice Is In The Hands Of Hamas Leaders

Israeli military land operations in Gaza. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - CIA Deputy Director David Cohen said on Wednesday the fate of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas was "mostly a question to be answered" by leaders of Palestinian militant groups.

However, Cohen did not mention the name of Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar, specifically.

"On the other hand, the Israeli side shows seriousness in negotiations," Cohen said at a national intelligence and security meeting in Washington.

"There may be a few episodes where people will step down from the threshold, but I'm not sure that an attempt to control escalation is something that can be controlled by any party in the region," he said.

It is known that mediators from the United States, Egypt, and Qatar have been working to reach an agreement between the two sides and prevent a wider regional war.

However, no agreement has yet been reached. Most recently, negotiations held in Cairo last week also have not resulted in a draft, after Israel and Hamas failed to agree to some compromise.

The main critical points in ongoing negotiations mediated by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar include the presence of Israel in the so-called Philadelphia Corridor, a span of 14.5 km (9 miles) of narrow land along Gaza's southern border with Egypt.

The mediators proposed a number of alternatives to the presence of Israeli troops in the Philadelphi Corridor and the Netzarim Corridor that crossed the central part of the Gaza Strip, but nothing was received by the parties, Egyptian sources said.

Meanwhile, at least 85 Palestinians were killed and 133 others injured as a result of Israeli attacks on Gaza in the past 24 hours, quoted from WAFA.

Palestinian medical authorities have confirmed that the number of Palestinian casualties since the latest conflict broke out in Gaza on October 7 has reached 40,534, while injuries have reached 93,778. The majority of victims were women and children.