Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, said on Wednesday that he welcomed the potential for “a dialogue” with Hamas and heaped praise on Qatar for helping facilitate the cease-fire deal between Israel and Gaza, despite facing scrutiny for previous ties to the Gulf nation.

Hamas faces an uncertain future post-ceasefire, grappling with leadership losses, declining foreign support, and strained relations with Palestinian factions. Amid pragmatic concessions and resistance rhetoric,

For the Islamist militant group, armed struggle now looks like a dead end. Its future in Gaza depends on the civilian politburo.

Last week’s Hamas-Israel hostage deal revealed a glaring and uncomfortable reality - the United States, albeit indirectly, became entangled with a murderous jihadi group. Securing the release of hostages is a commendable and necessary humanitarian effort,

In a rare move hours after the cease-fire took effect, one senior Hamas official said the group wants to engage the new Trump administration.

Mediator Qatar gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of a deal to end the war in Gaza on Monday, after a midnight "breakthrough" in talks attended by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's envoy, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters.

Qatar's Prime Minister said in Davos on Tuesday he hoped the Palestinian Authority would return to play a governing role in Gaza once the war with Israel comes to an end.

Qatar has handed over drafts of a possible ceasefire agreement to both Hamas and Israel, Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said on Tuesday, adding that this is the closest point to a deal over the past months.

CAIRO, Egypt — The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel will go into effect Sunday at 8:30 a.m. local time (0630 GMT/1:30 a.m. EST), mediator Qatar announced Saturday, as families of hostages held ...

Fighters from the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, control the crowd while Red Cross vehicles come to collect Israeli hostages to be released under a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar, File)

The truce will begin at 8:30 a.m., according to the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, a mediator in the talks. U.S. and other diplomats see the deal as the best chance to end the 15-month war that has devastated Gaza.