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CIA Director Says More Detailed Gaza Ceasefire Proposal Due in Days
William Burns, nominee for Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director, testifies during his Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 24, 2021. Tom Williams/Pool via REUTERS
The head of the CIA, who is also the chief US negotiator for an end to the Gaza war and release of hostages held by Hamas, said a more detailed ceasefire proposal would be made in the next several days.
After 11 months of conflict in Gaza, CIA Director William Burns said he was working very hard on “texts and creative formulas” with mediators Qatar and Egypt to secure a ceasefire, by finding a proposal which satisfies both parties.
“We will make this more detailed proposal, I hope in the next several days, and then we’ll see,” said Burns, speaking at a Financial Times event in London alongside Richard Moore, head of Britain’s MI6 foreign spy agency, in an unprecedented joint public appearance.
Burns added that it was a question of political will and he hoped leaders on both sides recognized “the time has come finally to make some hard choices and some difficult compromises.”
He said 90% of the paragraphs had been agreed but the last 10% were always the hardest.
“My hope is that you know, they’ll recognize what’s at stake here and be willing to move ahead on that basis,” he said.
Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.
BACKING UKRAINE
In an joint op-ed for Saturday’s FT newspaper, Burns and Moore highlighted joint efforts to help Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the British spy chief said it was critical the West maintained its support.
Discussing Ukraine’s offensive into the Kursk region of Russia where Kyiv has seized land, Moore called it an “audacious and bold” move to try and change the game.
“It’s too early to say how long the Ukrainians will be able to hang on in there (in Kursk),” he added, saying the incursion had brought the war home to ordinary Russians.
While Burns called the offensive a “significant tactical achievement” for the Ukrainians. But while he said it had exposed the Russian military’s vulnerabilities, he did not see any evidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power was weakening.
“It did raise questions on the part of people we could see across the Russian elite about where is this all headed,” he said.
Burns also disclosed that earlier in the conflict he had been sent by US President Joe Biden to meet one of his Russian counterparts to warn him of the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons.
“There was a moment in the fall of 2022 when I think there was a genuine risk of the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons,” the CIA director said. “We’ve continued to be very direct about that. So I don’t think we can afford to be intimidated by that saber rattling or bullying.”
In their op-ed, the spy chiefs also warned about a reckless campaign of sabotage being waged across Europe by Russian intelligence operatives.
“I think Russian intelligence services has gone a bit feral, frankly, in some of their behavior,” Moore said. “The fact that they are using criminal elements shows you that they’re becoming a bit desperate … It’s become a bit more amateurish.”
He added: “Amateurish can actually be more reckless and more dangerous as well.”
The post CIA Director Says More Detailed Gaza Ceasefire Proposal Due in Days first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.