[Source: Reuters]

Hamas said on Wednesday it would not take part in a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks slated for Thursday in Qatar, but an official briefed on the talks said mediators expected to consult with the Palestinian group afterwards.

The U.S. has said it expects indirect talks to go ahead as planned in Qatar’s capital Doha on Thursday, and that a ceasefire agreement was still possible, while warning that progress was needed urgently to avert a wider war.

However, Axios reported that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a trip to the Middle East that had been expected to begin on Tuesday.

Three senior Iranian officials have said that only a ceasefire deal in Gaza would hold Iran back from direct retaliation against Israel for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on its soil last month.

The delegation includes Israel’s spy chief David Barnea, head of the domestic security service Ronen Bar and the military’s hostages chief Nitzan Alon, a defence official said.

Hamas has voiced scepticism about the chances of the talks delivering real results, blaming Israel for stalling, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has been the main obstacle to sealing a deal.

Hamas’ absence from the talks, however, does not eliminate the chances of progress since its chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya is based in Doha and the group has open channels with Egypt and Qatar.

A source familiar with the matter said that Hamas wants the mediators to come back to them with a “serious response” from Israel. If that happens, the group says, it will meet with mediators after the Thursday session. An official briefed on the talks process said mediators expected to consult with Hamas.