Hamas said on Wednesday it would not take part in a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks fixed for Thursday in Qatar. The Palestinian group said it will consult with mediators afterwards.
Speaking to journalists, the White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that CIA Director Bill Burns, and U.S. Middle East envoy Brett McGurk will represent the US government at the talks on Thursday in Qatar.
The U.S. has said it expects indirect talks to go ahead as planned in Qatar’s capital Doha on Thursday, and that a ceasefire agreement was still possible, while warning that progress was needed urgently to avert a wider war.
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Three senior Iranian officials have said that only a ceasefire deal in Gaza would hold Iran back from retaliating directly against Israel for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on its soil last month.
