Qatar is set to host Gaza ceasefire talks on Thursday, seeking a so-far elusive agreement that the United States hopes will stop Iran from striking Israel and avert a wider war.
The US, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators have invited Israel and Hamas for negotiations aimed at ending fighting that the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says has killed nearly 40,000 people in the Palestinian territory.
The talks will be held in the Qatari capital Doha, a source close to Hamas and a second source close to the negotiations said Wednesday.
According to a US source familiar with the Doha meeting, CIA director William Burns is scheduled to take part.
Israel confirmed it would attend, though it remained unclear if Hamas, whose Oct. 7 attack on Israel triggered the war, planned to participate.
According to Reuters, the Palestinian Hamas movement will not participate in the negotiations, "but an official briefing on the talks said mediators expected to consult with the Palestinian group afterwards."
A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Hamas wants the intermediaries to come back with a "serious response" from Israel. If that happens, Hamas representatives will meet with the mediators after Thursday's meeting.
