Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal gets renewed push after two-month deadlock

• But U.S. and Israeli officials say they think Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar's death creates an opportunity to resume negotiations for a deal to release the 101 hostages still held by Hamas and establish a ceasefire in Gaza.
• Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al-Haya, who was Sinwar's deputy, is in Doha and Qatari and Egyptian mediators are expected to brief him on the talks over the weekend.

Driving the news: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met on Thursday in Doha with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and discussed renewed efforts to secure a deal, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

• In a press conference after the meeting, Blinken said negotiators from the U.S., Qatar, Egypt and Israel will meet in the coming days to discuss the hostage-release and ceasefire deal.
• The Qatari Prime Minister added that the meeting will take place in Doha.
• A source with knowledge of the meeting said the CIA director, the Qatari prime minister, the director of the Israeli Mossad David Barnea and the new director of the Egyptian Intelligence Service Hassan Rashad are expected to attend the meeting.
• The Israeli Prime Minister's Office declined to comment.

Behind the scenes: The Qatari prime minister said he met with Hamas officials in Doha in recent days after Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces and discussed the possibility of resuming negotiations.

• He said the positions Hamas representatives laid out were similar to the ones they presented in writing in August. "I think this will be their starting point," he added.

State of play: Rashad and Israel's Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar met earlier this week and discussed an idea for a "small" hostage and ceasefire deal that could jump-start negotiations on a broader agreement, Axios reported on Monday.

• The idea includes a release of a small number of hostages held by Hamas in return for roughly two weeks of ceasefire in Gaza and increased humanitarian aid, Israeli officials said.
• The Prime Minister of Qatar said Egyptian mediators are meeting Hamas representatives in Cairo on Thursday.

• "We are closely coordinated with Egypt on any initiative. We hope the discussions today will yield something positive," he said.
• Hamas official Osama Hamdan told al-Mayadeen TV network that the delegation visited Cairo to hear the Egyptian mediators' ideas, but stressed there is no change in the group's position regarding the deal.
• "The Palestinian people cannot accept partial deals today. Any effort to release prisoners held by Hamas must begin with a ceasefire," he said.

Barnea met with Rashad on Thursday in Cairo, according to a source familiar with the trip.

• It was the first meeting between the two since Rashad took office. The source said they discussed the efforts to renew negotiations on the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.

Blinken told family members of Israeli-American hostages being held by Hamas on Tuesday in Tel Aviv that he thinks the "small deal" is an idea worth exploring, according to two people who attended the meeting.

• "We are looking at different options with our Qatari and Egyptian partners. We don't know if Hamas is ready to engage. I anticipate we will learn more in the coming days," Blinken said on Thursday in Doha.
• "The fundamental question is if Hamas is serious. Sinwar was the biggest obstacle. I hope now their minds will be concentrated and that we can get there," he said.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details.