Hamas-Israel talks for Gaza truce enter fifth day in Qatar: official

DUBAI: Indirect negotiations aimed at securing a truce in Gaza between Hamas and Israel entered their fifth day in Qatar on Thursday, an official with knowledge of the talks told AFP.

The current negotiations – taking place after 21 months of fighting and multiple previous rounds of talks that failed to yield a breakthrough – began in the capital Doha on Sunday in hopes of clinching a deal based on a US-backed framework that envisages an initial 60-day truce.

“Hamas and Israel remain in Qatar,” the official said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of talks.

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Mediators were “shuttling between the two sides to exchange ideas with the aim of closing the remaining gaps and maintaining momentum towards a deal”, the official added.

Talks in the wealthy Gulf country have coincided with a visit to the United States by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the official confirmed that a meeting between Israeli, US and Qatari representatives took place in Washington on Tuesday.

The discussions in the US capital “aimed to progress the negotiations and support the ongoing talks in Doha”, the official said.

Qatar, along with fellow mediators the United States and Egypt, has brokered back-and-forth talks aimed at a truce since the earliest days of the war.

Despite a week-long truce in November 2023 and a two-month halt that began in January 2025, the indirect talks, principally held in Doha and Cairo, have failed to bring about a durable end to the hostilities.