Steve Witkoff, President-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, said Tuesday he will travel to Qatar to participate in ceasefire and hostage negotiations in Gaza with Biden administration officials.

Chances of a deal appear slim as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made clear he has no intention of ending the genocidal war and Hamas says any deal must lead to a permanent ceasefire, but Witkoff insisted progress was being made.

It is unprecedented for an official from an incoming administration to join the diplomatic work of the current administration.

“We’re making a lot of progress, and I don’t want to say too much because I think they’re doing a really good job in Doha,” Witkoff, a real estate investor, said at a news conference with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

“I’m really optimistic that by the time the inauguration comes around, we’ll have some good things to announce on behalf of the president,” Witkoff said. Asked what was holding up an agreement, Witkoff declined to answer. “I think we were close to [an agreement]. I don’t want to discuss what held it up — there’s no point in being negative in any way,” he said.

Trump reiterated his threat that there would be "hell to pay" if Hamas did not begin releasing the hostages by his inauguration on January 20.

“If these hostages are not returned — if they are not returned by the time I take office — hell will break out in the Middle East and it will not be good for Hamas and it will not be good, frankly, for anybody,” Trump said. “Hell will break out. I don’t need to say more, but that is the case and they should have been returned long ago.”

The president-elect has pledged to be a strong supporter of Israel, as he was in his first term, and said Monday that he is "the best friend Israel has ever had."

According to media reports, Hamas has issued a list of 34 hostages it wants to release as part of the first phase of a ceasefire agreement in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

The Times of Israel reported that the possible deal on the table would only include a temporary ceasefire of six to seven weeks. Relatives of the Israelis still being held in Gaza are demanding that the government seek a comprehensive agreement that would free all the hostages and end the conflict.

During previous rounds of negotiations, Netanyahu has worked to sabotage the chances of reaching an agreement by constantly declaring that he would not agree to a permanent truce and adding new demands.