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Hamas and U.S. officials have held direct talks in Doha in recent days, two senior members of the Palestinian group told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Sunday, with one citing “progress” toward a Gaza truce.
“A series of direct discussions took place in Doha between Hamas leadership and U.S. representatives, focusing on a Gaza cease-fire, a prisoner swap, and the delivery of humanitarian aid,” one senior Hamas official said, adding that negotiations are “still ongoing.”
A second official confirmed signs of progress, particularly regarding aid access to Gaza and the possible exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, including discussions involving U.S.-Israeli captive Edan Alexander.
The second official also reported progress “on the cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.”
Hamas continues to hold 58 hostages taken during the group’s Oct. 7, 2023, incursion on southern Israel that triggered the war.
Israel ended the last cease-fire, which lasted two months, on March 18, launching a major offensive in Gaza and ramping up its bombardment of the territory.
It has also cut off all aid to Gaza, saying it would pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages.
Indirect talks between Hamas and Israel, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, have taken place since the early months of the war without yielding a resolution.
Washington had for decades refused to engage directly with Hamas before doing so publicly for the first time in March.
Hamas has continued to insist on a deal that ends the war and, on April 18, rejected an Israeli proposal for a 45-day truce and hostage-prisoner exchange.
Hamas’ 2023 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people.
The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Sunday that at least 2,720 people have been killed since Israel resumed its campaign, bringing the overall death toll since the war began to 52,829.
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