CIA Director William Burns, who is leading U.S. efforts to mediate the Israel-Hamas war, is in Cairo on Thursday to meet with Egyptian leaders, while President Joe Biden’s Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk and his envoy on the conflict with Hezbollah, Amos Hochstein, are in Israel held talks.

According to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, U.S. officials are pressing the administration to “support broader de-escalation in the region supported by deterrence.”

Authorities explored various frameworks for reaching an agreement between Israel and Hamas; However, mediators, including the USA, Qatar and Egypt, could not come up with a proposal that would satisfy both sides.

Hamas is still holding nearly 100 people hostage whom the group, which the US designates a terrorist organization, kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that sparked the current war. In total, Hamas terrorists killed approximately 1,200 people and kidnapped approximately 250. Hamas has not released any of its hostages since the end of a week-long ceasefire in late November 2023.

It is not known exactly how many of the hostages are still alive. Seven Americans are believed to be in Hamas hands.

Mediators believe progress can be made in reaching an agreement following the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7 attack, which US officials have identified as the main obstacle to finalizing the ceasefire agreement.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said earlier this week that Sinwar was “not willing to negotiate further,” but it is unknown whether Hamas would be more amenable to a deal without Sinwar.

“Hamas is going through a process to elect new leadership,” Miller added. “It appears to be going through that process right now. We obviously don’t know a lot about Hamas’ internal decision-making processes, but based on our conversations in the region, we understand that Hamas is currently governed by a council and will go through a process at some point. We will decide to elect a new leader and “I think the results over the next few weeks will determine whether there is a change in their stance.”

By early summer, negotiators wanted both sides to agree to a ceasefire agreement, the first phase of which would last about six weeks. But they are now seeking an agreement that would halt hostilities for a shorter period. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said last Sunday that the new proposal calls for a two-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release four Israeli hostages.

The most important sticking point in the negotiations was whether the agreement would be indefinite. While Hamas wanted Israel to agree to end the war completely, Israeli leaders reiterated their opposition, arguing that making concessions would allow Hamas to restructure and regroup.

McGurk and Hochstein met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders to discuss the more than year-long war with Hezbollah. Senior leaders of the group.

In his statement last week, Israeli Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi stated that Israeli forces may be close to completing their goals in Lebanon, saying, “There is a possibility of a sharp outcome in the north.”

Israel evacuated more than 50,000 people living in northern Israel last October due to concerns that Hezbollah could carry out a cross-border attack similar to the cross-border attack carried out by Hamas. Hezbollah started firing missiles into northern Israel a day after Hamas’ attack. These civilians remain displaced, and Israeli officials have said that establishing conditions that will allow them to return to their homes is the main goal of their operations.

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“Prime Minister Netanyahu has made clear that the real issue is not this or that agreement on paper, but Israel’s ability and determination to implement the agreement and thwart any threat to its security from Lebanon in a way that will return our residents safely home. Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

US Central Command Commander Gen. Erik Kurilla also went to Israel this week. Given the two sides’ mutual air strikes, US forces were deployed to Israel earlier this month to operate an advanced air defense system in preparation for a possible Iranian attack.