US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed with Egypt and Qatar on Wednesday ways to reach an agreement to exchange prisoners and cease fire in the Gaza Strip.

This came during two separate phone calls that Blinken made with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdel Aty and Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, on the eve of a supposed resumption of prisoner exchange negotiations and a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Abdel Aati received a phone call from Blinken, which discussed "working to reach a ceasefire in Gaza," as the two ministers discussed the results of their contacts and efforts in this regard.

During the call, Abdel-Ati stressed the "necessity and speed of reaching an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza, and full access to humanitarian aid" to the Strip.

He also stressed the need to "deal positively with the Egyptian-Qatari-American mediation efforts, and engage seriously and with real political will in the ceasefire negotiations, as they are the only way to stop the escalation in the region and contain attempts to expand the circle of conflict."

All eyes will be on the Qatari capital, Doha, on Thursday, where negotiations are expected to resume on a ceasefire agreement on Gaza and a prisoner exchange, amid reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to add new conditions for accepting the agreement, which are expected to further complicate the negotiations and hinder their chances of success.

These anticipated negotiations come in response to a call issued by the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and the United States, in a joint statement last week, while a Hamas leader announced that his movement would not participate in them.

In the same context, Blinken made a phone call with Mohammed bin Abdulrahman on Wednesday, discussing "the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories," according to a statement by the Qatari Foreign Ministry.

The statement added that the call also addressed "the latest developments in the joint mediation efforts to end the war on the Gaza Strip, and stressed the need for calm and de-escalation in the region," without mentioning any further details in particular.

Hamas leader Suhail al-Hindi confirmed in a statement quoted by Anadolu Agency on Tuesday that Hamas will not be part of the ceasefire and prisoner exchange negotiations expected to resume in Doha on Thursday.

Al-Hindi explained that the movement demanded "a clear commitment from Israel to what was agreed upon on July 2 (based on the proposal of US President Joe Biden)," stressing that "if that happens, the movement is ready to enter into the mechanisms for implementing the agreement."

Last Sunday, Hamas demanded, in a statement, that the mediators in these negotiations “present a plan to implement what they presented to the movement and which it agreed to on July 2, based on Biden’s vision and the Security Council resolution, and oblige the (Israeli) occupation to do so, instead of going to more rounds of negotiations or new proposals that provide cover for the occupation’s aggression and give it more time.”

Hamas added at the time: "Although we and the mediators in Egypt and Qatar are aware of the true intentions and positions of the occupation and its prime minister (Benjamin Netanyahu), the movement responded to the recent agreement, which the enemy faced with new conditions that were not proposed throughout the negotiation process."

At the end of last May, Biden presented the terms of a deal offered to him by Israel "to stop the fighting and release all the kidnapped (Israeli prisoners in Gaza)," and Hamas accepted it at the time, according to Hebrew media, but Netanyahu added new conditions.

These conditions included preventing the return of what he called "Palestinian militants" from the southern Gaza Strip to its north by inspecting returnees at the "Netzarim" axis, which the Israeli army established near Gaza City and separates the north of the Strip from its south, and the Israeli army remaining at the "Philadelphi" axis on the border between Gaza and Egypt, which it announced its control over on May 29. Netanyahu later added other conditions, including the deportation of Palestinian prisoners with high sentences to other countries.