US and Hamas hold first direct talks since Gaza truce as ceasefire process stalls

The US and Hamas held direct talks on Tuesday night in Cairo. According to Hamas sources, the talks were "part of efforts to advance the fragile US-brokered agreement."

A delegation led by senior US advisor Aryeh Lightstone met chief Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya. Nickolay Mladenov, the US-backed Board of Peace's High Representative for Gaza, joined Lightstone. Al-Hayya pressed Lightstone about the need for Israel to fully implement its commitments to the first phase of the agreement - including an end to strikes and the entry of more humanitarian aid - in order to move to the next phase. A State Department spokesperson said, "We don't comment on ongoing negotiations." The truce, brokered in October, brought an end to two years of war in Gaza. Al-Hayya survived an Israeli assassination attempt in the Qatari capital Doha last September.

Meetings between Hamas, representatives of the Board of Peace and international mediators have aimed to reach an agreement over the next phase of the ceasefire deal: the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of an international force to Gaza, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the devastated territory.