Suha Arafat, the widow of Yasser Arafat, reportedly played a role in opening a channel between Hamas and the US to negotiate the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, Hezbollah-affiliated network Al Mayadeen reported on Tuesday.
This comes following reports that the US and Hamas engaged in talks to free Alexander.
Meetings in March between US hostage envoy Adam Boehler and Hamas largely focused on Alexander's release. Boehler, with President Donald Trump's approval, held direct talks with Hamas, as the group has been designated as a terror organization by the US since 1997.
Boehler said in March that US meetings with Hamas were "very helpful," and that he did not rule out additional encounters with the Palestinian terror group.
Who is Suha Arafat?
Suha Arafat, 61, has been living abroad since the death of Yasser Arafat. She has often criticized the Palestinian Authority (PA), accusing its leaders of seeking to silence her.
Yasser Arafat served as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and President of the PA. He died in 2004.
Amichai Stein, Khaled Abu Toameh, and Reuters contributed to this report. This is a developing story.