CIA Director Bill Burns is set to travel to Israel today to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an anonymous source has told Reuters, Al Jazeera reports.

Burns’s visit comes as Israel has launched military operations in Rafah, seized the vital Rafah border crossing with Egypt, and instructed the more than 1 million Palestinians sheltering in the city in southern Gaza to evacuate.

Israel’s Rafah assault has also cast doubt over the viability of ongoing ceasefire negotiations, with delegations from Israel, Hamas, the US, Qatar and Egypt set to meet in Cairo today.

Opinion

Editorial

New regional order
Updated 11 May, 2026

New regional order

The fact is that the US has only one true security commitment in the Middle East — Israel.
A better start
11 May, 2026

A better start

THE first 1,000 days of a child’s life often shape decades to come. In Pakistan, where chronic malnutrition has...
Widening gap
11 May, 2026

Widening gap

PAKISTAN’S monthly trade deficit ballooned to $4.07bn last month, its highest level since June 2022, further...
Momentary relief
Updated 10 May, 2026

Momentary relief

THE IMF’s approval of the latest review of Pakistan’s ongoing Fund programme comes at a moment of growing global...
India’s global shame
10 May, 2026

India’s global shame

INDIA’s rabid streak is at an all-time high. Prejudice is now an organised movement to erase religious freedoms ...
Aurat March restrictions
Updated 10 May, 2026

Aurat March restrictions

The message could not have been clearer: women may gather, but only if they remain politically harmless.