The main US and British spy agencies, the CIA and MI6, said in a highly unusual joint statement on Saturday that they were “working tirelessly” for a ceasefire and hostage exchange agreement in the Gaza Strip.
Both organisations have “taken advantage of our intelligence channels to push hard for containment and de-escalation” in the Middle East, according to the text published by the ‘Financial Times’ and signed by the heads of the two organisations, Bill Burns for the CIA and Richard Moore for MI6.
“Our services are working tirelessly to achieve a ceasefire and hostage agreement in Gaza, which could put an end to the suffering and the lamentable loss of life of Palestinian civilians and bring the hostages home after 11 months of hellish confinement by Hamas,” they said.
Burns in particular played an “involved role” in negotiations in Egypt in August to bring the parties together to reach an agreement, they said.
Washington and London have historically been aligned on issues such as the Middle East conflict, but this week British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the suspension of some licenses for arms sales to Israel.
This joint statement has now been published, highlighting bilateral cooperation “in an international dispute system in which our two countries face a series of unprecedented threats.” In particular, they mention China, “the main intelligence and geopolitical challenge of the 21st century,” and “an assertive Russia.”
They have thus expressed their support for Ukraine, which is “more vital than ever”, while warning against pro-Russian disinformation. “We continue to work beyond Ukraine to prevent Russia’s blatant sabotage of intelligence across Europe and its use of technology to spread lies and disinformation that seek to drive wedges between us,” he said.