Ceasefire talks in Doha off to 'promising start', says White House

The White House said the Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar have had a "promising start" and are expected to continue into Friday.

The US delegation in Doha is led by CIA chief William Burns and Brett McGurk, the US envoy to the Middle East. The Israeli delegation is headed by Mossad chief David Barnea. Egypt's intelligence chief Abbas Kamel and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani are also in attendance.

Hamas has previously said it would not enter new negotiations but is willing to discuss the framework deal that the US announced and Hamas agreed to in early July.