Israel said on Monday the head of the Mossad agency had returned from talks in Doha with his CIA counterpart and the Qatari premier, where they discussed a new "framework" for a Gaza hostage release deal.
"The three parties discussed a new unified framework that integrates previous proposals and also takes into account the main issues and recent developments in the region," the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
"In the coming days, discussions will continue between the mediators and Hamas to assess the feasibility of talks and to further efforts to promote a deal," it added.
Mediators include Qatar, the United States and Egypt, whose President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday unveiled a proposal for a two-day truce in the Israel-Hamas war that would include a hostage release and, he said, could pave the way for a full halt to fighting.
Under his plan, "four hostages would be exchanged for some prisoners in Israeli jails", followed by more negotiations within 10 days aiming to secure "a complete ceasefire and the entry of aid" into the Gaza Strip.
US President Joe Biden, asked about the possibility of a ceasefire just over a year after Hamas's cross-border attack triggered the Gaza war which has spread to Lebanon and threatened to draw in Iran, said he would talk to Israel immediately to push for a ceasefire.
"My staff is talking to them right now," Biden said, after casting an early ballot in the race for his successor. "We need a ceasefire. We should end this war. It should end, it should end, it should end."
The United States is Israel's top military supplier and a mediator in the Doha talks. Biden has stood by the country's right to defend itself despite international outrage at the mounting death toll in both Gaza and Lebanon, where for the past month it has engaged in a ground and air war against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
Despite mounting pressure from the international community -- and multiple unsuccessful efforts by mediators to secure a truce -- war has raged without interruption in Gaza since a one-week truce in November 2023.
Out of 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants during the October 7 attack, 97 are still held in Gaza, including 34 that the Israeli military says are dead.
Earlier this month, Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who Israeli and US officials as well as some analysts have said was an obstacle to reaching an accord.
Critics in Israel have also accused Netanyahu of obstructing mediation for a truce and hostage-release deal.
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