Negotiations over a potential ceasefire in Gaza and hostage deal are set to resume in Qatar in coming days, US and Qatari officials have confirmed.

A spokesman for Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, said an Israeli delegation will fly to Doha on Sunday in what will be the first discussions on ending the war since August.

It is not yet clear whether Hamas has agreed to take part. However a Hamas delegation met with Egyptian security officials on Thursday in Cairo to discuss “ideas and proposals”, a senior Hamas official told AFP.

Washington believes the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar might draw Hamas back to the negotiation table, although the terror group has long accused Israel of blocking any deal.

“With Sinwar gone there is a real opportunity to bring home [the hostages] and to accomplish the objective,” Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, said this week on his 11th trip to the Middle East since the start of the conflict.