The United States, Qatar and Egypt were to meet with an Israeli delegation in Qatar as the Palestinian death toll from the brutal 10-month-old Israeli war nears 40,000.

Hamas has not said whether it will participate, accusing Israel of adding new demands to an evolving proposal that had U.S. and international support.

A cease-fire in Gaza would likely calm tensions across the region and may persuade Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah to refrain from retaliatory strikes on Israel after its assassinations of Hamas' top political leader in Iran's capital and a top Hezbollah commander in Lebanon.

The mediators have spent months trying to hammer out a three-phase plan in which Hamas would release scores of captives in exchange for a lasting cease-fire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

Both sides have agreed in principle to the plan, which President Joe Biden announced on May 31. But Hamas has rejected Israel's latest demands, which include a lasting occupation army presence along the border with Egypt and a line bisecting Gaza where it would search Palestinians returning to their homes.

Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan told The Associated Press the group is only interested in discussing the implementation of Biden's vision and not in further negotiations over its content.

The two sides are also divided over the details of the prisoners exchange, including who among the Palestinian prisoners would be eligible for release and whether they would be sent into exile.

* This story was edited by Ahram Online.