CIA Deputy Director David Cohen said on Wednesday that the fate of a deal for a ceasefire and hostage/prisoner swap is in the hands of Hamas leader Yayha Sinwar.
While Cohen did not mention Sinwar by name during his address to an intelligence and national security summit in Washington, he said that whether a deal would be reached or not was "largely a question that is going to be answered by Hamas' leader."
Cohen noted that the Israelis were showing seriousness in the negotiations.
Regarding efforts by the US, Qatar, and Egypt to bring a deal to fruition he said: "There may be episodes where people would step back from the brink, but I don’t think anybody can be confident that that effort to control escalation is something that ... any party in that region” can control.