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By AAMER MADHANI

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that U.S. officials have engaged in “ongoing talks and discussions” with Hamas officials, stepping away from a long-held U.S. policy of not directly engaging in the terrorist group.

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.

Leavitt declined to provide detail on the the substance of talks. Egyptian and Qatari intermediaries have served as mediators with Hamas for the U.S. and Israel since the group launched its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the war.

“Look, dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what’s in the best interest of the American people is something that the president … believes is a good-faith effort to do what’s right for the American people,” she said.

Leavitt added that Israel has been consulted about the direct engagement with Hamas officials, but noted that there are “American lives at stake.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that “Israel has expressed to the United States its position regarding direct talks with Hamas.”

Israeli officials say about 24 living hostages — including Edan Alexander, an American citizen — as well as the bodies of at least 35 others are believed to still be held in Gaza.

Adam Boehler, Trump’s nominee to be special envoy for hostage affairs, led the direct talks with Hamas. Boehler, founder and CEO of Rubicon Founders, a healthcare investment firm, was a lead negotiator on the Abraham Accords team during Trump’s first term that strove to win broader recognition of Israel in the Arab world.

The talks, which took place last month, focused mainly on the release of American hostages, and a potential end of the war without Hamas in power in Gaza, according to a Hamas official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The official added that no progress was made but “the step itself is promising” and more talks are expected. Egyptian and Qatari mediators helped arrange the talks.

The direct engagement comes as continuation of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire remains uncertain. President Donald Trump has signaled that he has no intentions of pushing Netanyahu away from a return to combat if Hamas doesn’t agree to terms of a new ceasefire proposal, which the Israelis have billed as being drafted by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.

The new plan would require Hamas to release half its remaining hostages — the militant group’s main bargaining chip — in exchange for a ceasefire extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Israel made no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisoners, a key component of the first phase.

The talks between U.S. and Hamas officials were first reported earlier Wednesday by the news site Axios.

Magdy reported from Cairo.