White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that U.S. officials have had “ongoing talks and discussions” with Hamas officials. Confirmation of the talks in the Qatari capital of Doha come as the Israel-Hamas ceasefire remains in the balance.

Negotiations between Israel and Hamas over a second phase, in which Hamas would release dozens of remaining hostages in exchange for more prisoners and a lasting ceasefire, have not yet begun.

The military was supposed to begin withdrawing from that region in early March if the current ceasefire, which expires Saturday, were extended.

The first phase of the ceasefire that paused 15 months of brutal warfare between Israel and Hamas is set to end on Saturday.

Hamas said on Thursday that U.S. President Trump's repeated threats against Palestinians constituted support for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to back out of the Gaza ceasefire and intensify the siege of Gazans.

Talks resume in Cairo Friday on a second phase of an Israel-Hamas ceasefire that mediators hope will bring a lasting end to the Gaza conflict, a day after Israel's military

Israel announced it will not withdraw from the strategic Philadelphi corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt, potentially jeopardizing the fragile ceasefire with Hamas.

Israel faced sharp criticism on Sunday as it stopped the entry of all food and other supplies into Gaza on Sunday and warned of "additional consequences" if Hamas doesn't accept a new proposal to extend a fragile ceasefire.

Hamas said on Saturday that it rejected Israel's "formulation" of extending the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, on the day the first stage of the deal was set to expire.