Heads of CIA and MI6 publicly discuss Israel-Hamas ceasefire, potential Russia threat

CIA chief Bill Burns said Saturday that he hopes there will be a more detailed hostage and ceasefire proposal between Israel and Hamas soon amid the war in Gaza. But he said it will depend on the "political will" of the two parties. 

He was speaking at an unprecedented joint public event with Richard Moore, the head of the United Kingdom's foreign intelligence service, MI6.

The two leaders discussed the potential threat of Russia amid its ongoing war with Ukraine. 

They both endorsed the invasion of Russia's Kursk region by Ukraine. 

“Going back to the fall of 2021, the two of us together, our services together, were able to provide credible, early, accurate warning of the invasion that was coming, which was not a small thing at the time, because almost all of the other services around the world, our intelligence counterparts, thought this was a bluff on Putin’s part,” Burns said. 

Burns said that the U.S. is working with Egypt and Qatar to get a ceasefire framework that was proposed by President Joe Biden, according to CNN. But when Biden announced the peace proposal on May 31, his own words that day were that "Israel has offered a comprehensive new proposal." 

The next day, according to CNN, "US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Hamas through the mediators to accept the ceasefire deal 'without delay,' and discussed the deal’s benefits to the Palestinian people, according to readouts from the State Department."

Amid accusations that Israel is the main obstacle to getting a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, Netanyahu said in a press release last Sunday that "Our efforts to free our hostages are continuing constantly."

"Since December, Hamas has refused to hold genuine negotiations," Netanyahu said in the release. "Three months ago, on May 27, Israel agreed to a hostage release deal with full backing from the US. Hamas refused. Even after the US updated the deal framework on August 16 – we agreed, and Hamas again refused."