US, Qatar announce new Gaza talks as Blinken eyes new options

The United States and Qatar on Thursday announced a resumption of negotiations on a Gaza ceasefire, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said mediators were exploring new options after months of failing to seal a U.S.-led plan.

With less than two weeks before U.S. elections, Blinken is paying his 11th trip to the region since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which last week killed the militant group's leader Yahya Sinwar.

Blinken said negotiators would resume talks "in the coming days" on ways to end the year-long Gaza war and free hostages seized in the October 7 attack.

"We talked about options to capitalize on this moment and next steps to move the process forward," Blinken said, after talks with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani.

He said that the two partners were seeking a plan "so that Israel can withdraw, so that Hamas cannot reconstitute, and so that the Palestinian people can rebuild their lives and rebuild their futures."

"This is a moment to work to end this war, to make sure all the hostages are home, and to build a better future for people in Gaza," he said.

The Qatari prime minister said Israeli and U.S. delegations would meet in Doha on the ceasefire. Blinken declined to give further details on the talks.

President Joe Biden on May 31 laid out a plan that would temporarily halt fighting and seek freedom for hostages still held by militants in Gaza.

But talks bogged down, with a major sticking-point being Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence on an Israeli troop presence on the Gaza-Egypt border.

Blinken, on the third stop of a tour that took him to Israel and Saudi Arabia, repeated his assertion that Sinwar was the main impediment and that his death offers an opportunity.

Sheikh Mohammed said there was so far "no clarity what will be the way forward" from Hamas but that Qatari mediators had "re-engaged" with the group since Sinwar's death.

"There has been an engagement with the representatives from the political office in Doha. We had some meetings with them in the last couple of days," he said, adding that Egypt has "ongoing" discussions with Hamas.

U.S. officials had described Sinwar as intransigent in negotiations brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt on a ceasefire that would also see the release of hostages from Gaza.

Critics say the issue was not just Hamas but the Biden administration's failure to secure the support of Israel, which has received a near continuous flow of billions of dollars in U.S. weapons.

- 'Different options' -

Hamas has yet to choose a successor to Sinwar.

Two Hamas sources told AFP this week that the group was leaning towards appointing a Doha-based leadership committee rather than an individual leader.

Blinken said the United States was ready to explore "new frameworks" on Gaza.

"We're looking at different options, but as you heard the prime minister say, we haven't yet really determined whether Hamas is prepared to engage," Blinken said.

"But the next step is getting the negotiators together... we'll certainly learn more in the coming days."

Blinken is also looking for greater clarity on a plan for reconstruction and post-war governance of Gaza, seeing it as a vital component of efforts to end the war.

He announced another $135 million of aid to the Palestinians, bringing the total since the start of the war to some $1.2 billion.

Hamas seized full control of Gaza in 2007, and for more than a decade has maintained an office in Qatar, initially with the blessing of Israel and the United States.

The office has allowed communication with the group, whose main patron is U.S. arch-foe Iran, with Qatar -- a nimble regional player which also hosts a major U.S. base -- channelling money to support Hamas governance of impoverished Gaza.

After the October 7 attack, Israel vowed to eradicate Hamas and bring the hostages home. It stands accused of killing Hamas' Qatar-based political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, while he was visiting Iran in July.