US says it expects Gaza peace talks to continue, ceasefire possible

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. expects Gaza peace talks to move forward as planned, the State Department said on Monday, adding it believes a ceasefire deal remains possible even after Hamas cast doubt on whether it would participate in a Thursday meeting called by mediators.

Palestinian militant group Hamas on Sunday asked mediators to present a plan based upon previous talks instead of engaging in new negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Last week, leaders of the U.S., Egypt and Qatar urged Israel and Hamas to meet for negotiations on Aug. 15 in either Cairo or Doha to finalize a Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal.

State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel, speaking to reporters at a regular news briefing, said the U.S. fully expects talks to continue and it would continue to work with the parties involved, adding that agreement was still possible.

"We fully expect talks to move forward, as they should. All negotiators should return to the table and bring this deal to conclusion," Patel said.

Patel declined to say if the talks would go ahead without Hamas or whether Washington was working with regional partners to ensure their participation or not.

President Joe Biden laid out a three-phase ceasefire proposal in an address on May 31. Washington and regional mediators have since tried arranging the Gaza ceasefire-for-hostages deal but have run into repeated obstacles.

Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to the health ministry.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, Susan Heavey and Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by David Gregorio)