US-Israel talks take on fresh urgency as Middle East on edge

When spy chiefs from the US and Israel sit down for talks in Doha aimed at securing the release of Israeli hostages and ending the war in Gaza, they potentially hold the key not just to what happens in the besieged territory, but also to the escalatory spiral of regional hostilities.

The negotiations expected on Thursday will be at least the seventh time that CIA director Bill Burns and Israeli counterpart David Barnea have met since December, as the US and its fellow mediators Qatar and Egypt have battled to convince Israel and Hamas to agree a deal.