US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff plans to meet soon with Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al Hayya, according to media reports.
The date for the meeting has not been finalised, the New York Times reported, citing two anonymous sources, who added that plans could change.
One of the officials said Witkoff is seeking to address the ceasefire in the besieged Gaza that has been in place since October.
The meeting would "illustrate that Mr. Witkoff is not deterred by Israeli and American critics who say that US engagement with Hamas offers the group unwarranted legitimacy," the New York Times reported.
An in-person encounter between Witkoff and al Hayya would signal the Trump administration’s interest in keeping a direct line of communication with the group, The Times said.
Neither the White House nor Hamas responded to requests for comment.
Shared experience
But the sit-down would not be the first between Witkoff and al Hayya.
They first met in October ahead of the signing of the ceasefire agreement, and Witkoff said he commiserated with al Hayya over their shared experience of having lost a son.
Witkoff's son, Andrew, died of an opioid overdose in 2011. Himam al Hayya was killed by an Israeli attack on Doha, Qatar, in September that was intended to kill Khalil al Hayya and other senior Hamas officials.
“I told him that I had lost a son,” Witkoff said during an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes television programme,“ and that we were both members of a really bad club, parents who have buried children.”
Witkoff is not the first Trump administration figure to meet Hamas.
Adam Boehler, the US envoy for hostage response, held several meetings with Hamas officials in Qatar in March as he tried to secure the release of a dual American Israeli citizen who was being held at the time.
