DOHA/JERUSALEM/CAIRO - US and Israeli delegations will hold talks in Doha to discuss mediating a truce in Gaza, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said at a press conference held on Thursday.

The United States, Qatar, and Egypt are continuing their efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, Al Thani said.

"A negotiating team from the United States will visit Doha alongside the negotiating team from the Israeli side to discuss the means by which a breakthrough can be achieved," he said, without specifying the timetable.

Al Thani noted that the mediators have "re-engaged" with Hamas following the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, saying, "We had some meetings with them in the last couple of days. I believe that until now, there is no clarity what will be the way forward."

During the press conference, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that he expects parties concerned will soon discuss a ceasefire deal and the release of hostages in Gaza.

"We're looking at different options," Blinken told reporters. "We haven't yet really determined whether Hamas is prepared to engage, but the next step is getting the negotiators together."

Blinken is currently on his 11th trip to the Middle East since the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict erupted in October last year. 

ALSO READ: Israeli strike kills Lebanese troops as France rallies support for army

Meanwhile,  David Barnea, chief of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, will head to Doha on Sunday to discuss the release of hostages in Gaza, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday.

Barnea will meet with US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns and Al Thani, discussing with them the possibilities of restarting negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, against the background of the latest developments, the office said in a statement.

Israel's state-owned Kan TV News reported that Hassan Mahmoud Rashad, the new head of Egypt's General Intelligence Service, is also expected to participate in the talks.

According to the channel, after Israel's assassinations of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Barnea recently said that Israel must act flexibly to move forward with the hostage release deal.

An Israeli official familiar with the talks told the channel that there are question marks regarding Hamas, which insists on its demands for the release of Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel, withdrawal of the Israeli military from the Gaza Strip, and an end to the ongoing war.

Earlier in the day, Al Thani told a press conference that "a negotiating team from the United States will visit Doha alongside the negotiating team from the Israeli side to discuss means by which a breakthrough can be achieved," without specifying the timetable.

He said that the United States, Qatar, and Egypt are continuing their efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and that the mediators have "re-engaged" with Hamas following the killing of Sinwar.

Also on Thursday, High-ranking Egyptian security officials met with a delegation of Hamas leaders in Cairo to discuss Gaza ceasefire talks, the Egyptian Press Center reported.

The meeting aimed to discuss the current events in the Gaza Strip and the means to overcome the obstacles to achieving calm in the enclave.

Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza has risen to 42,847, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Thursday.