Ceasefire talks raise Gaza hopes but 1.5m trapped in Rafah fear the worst

A closed-door meeting of spy chiefs, military officials and diplomats has briefly renewed hopes of a potential ceasefire deal amid fierce debates at the United Nations, but observers have warned that time is running out to make progress and prevent a looming Israeli offensive on Gaza's southernmost city. The secretive talks at an unknown location in Paris involved David Barnea, the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence service, conducting separate meetings with Egyptian spy chief Abbas Kamel, head of the CIA William Burns and Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. Israeli officials said they had dispatched…