William J. Burns, the C.I.A. director, landed in Qatar on Wednesday to try to clinch a deal between Israel and Hamas to finally end the war in Gaza and free the remaining hostages held there, two officials said.

Mr. Burns has been the lead American negotiator in the monthslong cease-fire efforts, and officials from countries involved in the talks say both sides might be nearing a truce in the war that began with the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Qatar, a key mediator with Hamas, is hosting the latest round of negotiations. A senior U.S. official and a second official familiar with the talks, both of whom declined to be named to discuss the sensitive diplomacy, confirmed Mr. Burns’s arrival in Doha, the capital of Qatar.

If an agreement is reached, it would be the first pause in the fighting since November 2023, when Israel and Hamas agreed to a weeklong cease-fire that gave Gazans a brief reprieve and freed 105 hostages.

But months of negotiations have seen hopes rise repeatedly, only to be dashed days later by a fresh impasse.

Here’s what we know so far.

What’s on the table?

In a change from previous negotiations, both sides have generally refrained from leaking the details of the talks to the media. Some analysts said they believed the blackout indicated that Israel and Hamas were more serious about an accord this time around.

According to officials familiar with the talks, mediators have floated a cease-fire beginning with a 60-day truce. During this phase, Hamas would release some of the 100 or so hostages still held in Gaza — some of them dead — in exchange for Palestinians jailed in Israel.