US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Monday that serious negotiations are underway to reach an agreement for "exchanging hostages, a ceasefire in Gaza, and the entry of necessary aid into Gaza."

“I think the unspeakable tragedies that continue to occur in Gaza every day — not just the deaths of civilians, the maiming of civilians, people having difficulty getting enough food, people having difficulty getting medical care,” Miller added. “It’s an ongoing tragedy, and the answer to that tragedy is a ceasefire, which requires not only Israel’s consent; it requires Hamas’s consent. And that’s what has been difficult to achieve over the last seven months — or more — seven months since the president outlined the ceasefire proposal that we put on the table, but we’ve been pushing for a ceasefire for a long time — long before that.”

Miller used the routine American narrative of blaming Hamas for the ongoing war, saying, “There are two parties that have to agree to a ceasefire, and I know that everyone in this briefing room always asks me what the government of Israel is doing, but there are two parties to this conflict that have to agree to this ceasefire. And we will continue to press both parties to come to an agreement because the tragic deaths that you rightly mentioned are still happening and they have to stop.”

This came after media reports on Monday indicated that Israeli and Hamas officials said they felt a hostage deal that would include a temporary ceasefire in Gaza was close to being reached.

Israeli media reported that Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told Knesset members in a closed meeting that the deal with Hamas was “closer than ever,” while the Saudi-owned Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported that an unnamed senior Hamas official also said the deal was “closer than ever.” The Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar reported that there was “unprecedented readiness” on both sides to reach an agreement.

Details of the potential deal are unclear, but the optimism comes after Hamas agreed to key Israeli demands, agreeing that IDF troops would be able to remain in Gaza and hand over a list of hostages to be released.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the potential deal could include a 60-day ceasefire. During that period, Hamas would release 30 Israeli hostages, including two Americans, and Israel would release Palestinian prisoners and allow more humanitarian aid into the Strip.

While there is no indication that Israel is considering permanently ending its genocidal war on the Palestinians, the senior Hamas official told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Palestinian group's proposal includes "a gradual end to the war and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces according to an agreed timetable and guarantees from international mediators."

In turn, US President-elect Donald Trump said on Monday, in his first press conference since his election, that he had a "very good" and warm conversation with his friend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, about the war in Gaza.

"We had a very good conversation...we discussed what would happen," Trump said.

Trump repeated his threat that "big problems will happen" if Hamas does not release its captives by January 20, the day Trump takes office.

"As you know, I gave a warning that if these hostages were not returned home by that date, there would be big problems," he said at a news conference in Palm Beach, Florida.