Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz claimed on Monday that an agreement to exchange prisoners and ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is close.

"We are the closest to a significant deal since the previous deal," Israel's Army Radio quoted Katz as saying in a closed meeting of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, referring to the first deal that began on November 24, 2023, and lasted 7 days.

Katz added: "The kidnapped are the first target of the war for us. We will do everything to bring them back. We support reaching an agreement, even if it is partial."

Israeli media outlets have indicated in recent days that there has been progress in indirect talks with Hamas in order to reach an agreement.

On the other hand, Israel's Channel 12 said that Katz will meet later today in Israel with Adam Boehler, US President-elect Donald Trump's special envoy for hostage affairs.

Israeli media reported in recent days that Trump wants a prisoner exchange agreement and a ceasefire in Gaza before he officially assumes his duties as President of the United States of America on January 20.

On Saturday, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan claimed that a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas was close to being reached, without official confirmation from Israel or Hamas.

In turn, Hamas confirmed, on Saturday, in a statement issued on the occasion of the 37th anniversary of its founding, that it would continue its "great" efforts to stop the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, saying that it "dealt with all initiatives with positivity and high responsibility."

She stressed her openness to "any serious and real initiatives to stop the aggression and crimes of the occupation against our people, while firmly adhering to the rights, principles and aspirations of our people, and loyalty to the blood of the martyrs and their sacrifices."

While the movement did not comment on allegations published by the Hebrew news website Walla, quoting two Israeli officials, who said that "Tel Aviv presented Hamas, last week, with an updated proposal for an agreement to release some of the remaining 100 hostages (Israeli prisoners) it is holding and to begin a ceasefire in Gaza."

"Israeli officials also claimed that Hamas has shown greater willingness to be flexible and begin implementing even a partial deal," according to the website.

Hamas has repeatedly confirmed its readiness to conclude a prisoner exchange and ceasefire agreement. Last May, it agreed to a proposal put forward by US President Joe Biden, but Netanyahu backed down and put forward new impossible conditions, including the continuation of the war and the failure to withdraw the Israeli army from Gaza.

Israel estimates that there are 100 prisoners being held in the Gaza Strip, while Hamas has announced that dozens of them have been killed in random Israeli raids.

The opposition and the families of the Israeli prisoners accuse Netanyahu of obstructing reaching an agreement, in order to preserve his position and government, as extremist ministers, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, threaten to withdraw from the government and bring it down if a complete end to the war is accepted.

With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 151,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that killed dozens of children and the elderly, in one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.