Hamas has warned that no Israeli hostages would be released without Israel making a "serious deal" with the group and that it will determine the terms. Newsweek has reached out to the Israeli Prime Minister's office and the U.

Israel and Hamas are believed to have agreed that 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others should be released during the first 60 days of a cease-fire, but they have not reached a consensus on how many Palestinian prisoners should be freed during the same period. Up to 20 hostages are still thought to be alive.

Netanyahu said his meeting with Trump focused on freeing hostages in Gaza, and stressed his determination to "eliminate" the capabilities of Hamas.

As Israel and Hamas move closer to a ceasefire agreement, Israel says it wants to maintain troops in a southern corridor of the Gaza Strip — a condition that could derail the talks.

Hamas says it has agreed to release 10 Israeli captives as part of continuing efforts to reach a ceasefire in the besieged and bombarded Gaza Strip, but warned that ongoing talks for a truce were “tough” due to Israel’s “intransigence”.