U.S. officials have been holding secret backchannel talks with Hamas over the last six months to discuss their role in the newly-formed unity government, according to two senior diplomatic sources with direct knowledge of the talks.

The meetings were held between U.S. intermediaries and Hamas’s leadership which lives outside the Gaza Strip in third-party countries ranging from Egypt to Qatar and Jordan. Topics included the ceasefire agreement with Israel and the recently formed unity government between Hamas and Fatah.

During the talks, Hamas gave assurances that allowed the U.S. to support the unity government, despite heavy pressure by the Israeli government for them to condemn it, the diplomatic officials — one U.S. and one Palestinian — said. They said those assurances including a commitment to maintaining a ceasefire with Israel.