White House envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Doha on Tuesday evening in an effort to broker a new hostage-release and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, two U.S. officials said. Why it matters: The talks would be the first since President Trump took office and since the original agreement between Israel and Hamas that established a 42-day ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for the release of 33 hostages in its first phase,

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that U.S. officials have had “ongoing talks and discussions” with Hamas officials. Confirmation of the talks in the Qatari capital of Doha come as the Israel-Hamas ceasefire remains in the balance.

Leavitt added that the Israel has been consulted about the direct engagement with Hamas officials, but noted that there are “American lives at stake.” Israeli officials say about 24 living hostages — including Edan Alexander,

President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued what he called a "last warning" to Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza. Trump, in a statement on his Truth Social platform soon after meeting a group of recently released hostages,

Confirmation of the talks in the Qatari capital of Doha come as the Israel-Hamas ceasefire remains in the balance. It's the first known direct engagement between the U.S. and Hamas since the State Department designated the group a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.

As President Donald Trump's administration continues its sweeping overhaul of the federal government, the Department of Veterans Affairs is preparing lay off as many as 80,000 workers, according to an internal memo obtained by ABC News.

As President Donald Trump's administration continues its sweeping overhaul of the federal government, the Department of Veterans Affairs is preparing lay off as many as 80,000 workers, according to an internal memo obtained by ABC News.