February 13, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Hostage talks held Tuesday in Cairo were productive and serious, but did not yet arrive at a breakthrough that would result in a final deal, a US official said. The negotiations will continue, the official added.

A second US official said the outstanding area of disagreement among the parties in the hostage talks is the ratio of Palestinian prisoners to hostages that would be released as part of the deal.

CNN previously reported that Hamas' counterproposal included a call to release “all prisoners in Israeli prisons, including women, children, the elderly (over 50 years old), and the sick, who were arrested up until the date of signing this agreement.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has balked at the demand, which would be greater than the 3-to-1 ratio of Palestinian prisoners to hostages that was included in the deal in November 2023.

An Israeli official has told CNN that the Israeli delegation is on its way back from Cairo. Meanwhile, two senior Hamas members told CNN that so far there are no plans for a delegation from Hamas to travel to Egypt this week.

CNN's Lauren Izso and Ibrahim Dahman contributed reporting.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released a video recording Tuesday purportedly showing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar inside a tunnel below the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. 

Unveiling the video at his daily news conference, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said the footage was recorded October 10 and shows Sinwar with his wife, children and his brother walking through a dark tunnel. Hagari said the IDF obtained the material in recent days and said the clip was captured on a Hamas CCTV camera.

CNN can neither independently verify that Sinwar is the man seen in the video, nor when it was recorded. The IDF did not provide additional evidence to support their claims.

Two former hostages have thanked Israeli security forces for rescuing them from Gaza on Monday.

Fernando Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, both dual Israeli-Argentine citizens, were taken hostage during the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

They appeared in a video Tuesday published by the Israeli government press office along with two other former hostages, Clara Marman and Gabriela Leimberg, who were released November 28 as part of a hostages-prisoners swap during a four-day Gaza truce.

Fernando is the brother of both Clara and Gabriela, and Luis is Clara’s partner.

Fernando also thanked "all those who participated in this complex operation, to the IDF, to the security forces, to all the soldiers who made us really feel that we were being brought home."

Egypt is increasing its security presence at its border with the Gaza Strip, wary of a spillover of Israel’s war on Hamas onto its territory should the Israeli military begin its ground assault on the enclave’s southernmost city, Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population is sheltering.

The fortification by the border is a “precautionary” measure ahead of an expected Israeli ground operation in Rafah, Egyptian security officials told CNN. As part of its security buildup, the officials said, Egypt has deployed more troops and machinery in North Sinai, bordering Gaza.

Decades-old ties at risk?: Egypt was the first Arab nation to recognize Israel in 1979. The two signed a landmark pact that saw Israel return the Sinai Peninsula it captured from Egypt in the 1967 war in exchange for peace. The treaty also limited the number of troops stationed on the border between Egypt and Gaza, which at the time was controlled by Israel. The treaty turned Egypt into a pariah in the Arab world, but decades later helped pave the way for other Arab nations to sign similar agreements with Israel.

Western media outlets, including the Associated Press and The New York Times, have reported that Egypt has threatened to void the peace treaty if Israeli troops invaded Rafah. Egypt’s foreign minister dismissed those reports, but said in a news conference Monday that Cairo would adhere to the treaty “as long as it remains reciprocal,” the state-run Ahram newspaper reported.

An Israeli official acknowledged that the Egyptians have been concerned with Israel’s operation, but said they are not aware of a specific threat about the treaty.

Keep reading about Egypt and Israel's relationship.

A US-funded shipment of flour destined for Gaza has been stuck at the port of Ashdod in Israel for weeks because the main United Nations agency in Gaza is listed as the recipient, according to an Israeli official.

The shipment was blocked by Israeli customs under operational orders of controversial Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, despite Israel’s war cabinet having approved shipments of flour to Gaza via the Ashdod port following a request from US officials.  

Last month, US President Joe Biden publicly thanked Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for allowing the flour shipment to go through the port, according to a readout of a call between the two leaders.

The Israeli official said the Israeli government is committed to releasing the flour as soon as possible following discussions Tuesday involving top Israeli officials, including national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi. It is not clear exactly when that would be, according to the official. 

The United States is engaging with the Israeli government to ensure flour gets to Gaza, "not just as a one-off shipment, but over for a sustained period over months," US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said.

Axios first reported that the flour shipment was being held up by Smotrich because it was destined for UNRWA.

More about the UN agency: The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) assists Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. In January, Israel alleged that 13 UNRWA employees in Gaza were associated with Hamas' October 7 attacks. Following Israel’s allegations, UNRWA’s main donor — the United States — and several other countries paused funding to the organization.

This post was updated with comments from the US State Department spokesperson.

CNN's Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.

The Israel Defense Forces has obtained video from a security camera showing Hamas' leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, inside a tunnel below the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, with his wife, children and another unidentified man, an Israeli security official told CNN on Tuesday. 

It was unclear when the video was recorded and obtained, and what condition Sinwar was in. 

CNN has not seen the video but asked the IDF for comment.

Israel has accused Sinwar of being the “mastermind” behind the group’s October 7 attack — though experts say he is likely one of several involved.  

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi met with CIA Director Bill Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Egyptian presidency said in a statement. 

In his meeting with Sisi, Burns conveyed "his appreciation for Egypt’s tireless efforts to advance the path of calm in the Gaza Strip, a ceasefire, and the exchange of detainees and captives" the spokesperson said. 

Burns and Sisi agreed that "intensive consultation and coordination would continue to achieve the goals of the ceasefire, protection of civilians, and activating the two-state solution, in a way that enhances efforts to establish security and stability in the region" the statement said. 

Sisi and Al-Thani also met with Major General Abbas Kamel, the head of Egypt's intelligence agency, and Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaif, the head of the Qatari State Security Service, the statement said. 

During the meeting, Sisi emphasized "the keenness to continue consultation and coordination between the two countries" the statement read. 

A spokesperson with the presidency said there was a "review of efforts aimed at reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and protecting civilians from the deteriorating conditions in the Strip." The Egyptian and Qatari leaders also addressed the "extreme danger" of escalating military operations in Rafah. 

Burns is visiting Cairo to negotiate a possible ceasefire and hostage release deal with Mossad director David Barnea along with Egyptian and Qatari officials.

International concern is mounting over the fate of civilians in southern Gaza's Rafah, as the Israeli military draws up plans for an offensive in the southern city that borders Egypt.

More than half of Gaza’s population is believed to be in Rafah, with the majority of people displaced from other parts of the besieged enclave crammed into a makeshift tent city. United Nations chief António Guterres warned an assault would have "devastating consequences."

The mounting concern comes as hostage and ceasefire talks between CIA Director Bill Burns, Mossad chief David Barnea and Qatari and Egyptian officials in Cairo enter a critical 24-hour stretch.

Hamas told CNN it would be willing to attend the meeting in Cairo if current talks progress further.

Here are the latest headlines:

Hamas considers the next 24 hours of the ongoing hostage and ceasefire talks — underway in Cairo on Tuesday — as critical, a Hamas source has told CNN.

CIA Director Bill Burns and Mossad chief David Barnea are in Cairo on Tuesday to meet with Qatari and Egyptian officials to discuss a possible weeks-long ceasefire that would free the hostages still being held captive in Gaza. 

A senior official familiar with the negotiations tells CNN that the talks are “nudging forward,” but emphasized that the parties are not yet quite “close” to a final agreement.

The talks remain “difficult,” the official put it bluntly. While there has been some progress in recent days, the official said a deal is not yet imminent. 

What we know: A diplomat familiar with the talks said the current efforts centered around a six-week pause that includes guarantees that the negotiations will continue toward an eventual, permanent ceasefire. The diplomat said there was more work to be done and described the Cairo talks as critical in bridging remaining gaps between the parties. 

An official with Hamas told CNN that representatives for the group are ready to return to Cairo if current talks progress further.