US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have spoken by phone - in Biden's last week in office - as the possibility of a Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal are discussed.

Israel and Hamas are making progress, but uncertainty remains over key aspects of a potential deal, the BBC reports.

The White House said Biden discussed the "radically changed regional circumstances" following Israel's cease-fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria and the weakening of Iran's power in the region.

Netanyahu's office said he had briefed Biden on the instructions he had given to senior negotiators in Doha "in order to advance the release of the hostages."

During Sunday's call, which was the first made publicly since October, Biden "stressed the immediate need for a cease-fire in Gaza and the return of hostages with an increase in humanitarian aid made possible by the cessation of hostilities under the agreement."

It came a day after Netanyahu sent a senior Israeli security delegation to indirect negotiations in the Qatari capital brokered by Qatari, US and Egyptian officials.

Israeli media reported that Netanyahu was meeting with members of his cabinet who oppose a ceasefire agreement to convince them not to resign.

On Saturday, Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Whitkoff met with the Israeli prime minister amid efforts to reach a deal ahead of the president-elect's January 20 inauguration.

Last Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a deal was "very close" and that he hoped to "get it through" before Trump takes office. Any deal would be based on the proposals Biden made in May, he added.

Despite the apparent increased activity, a lack of clarity on several key issues – including whether an initial ceasefire will lead to a permanent ceasefire and whether the Israeli military will agree to withdraw completely from Gaza – still remains.

Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, killing about 1200 people - mostly civilians, and kidnapping about 250 others, writes KosovaPress. About 100 of them are still inside Gaza.

Israel, in response, launched a military offensive in Gaza to destroy Hamas.

According to Palestinian authorities, the war has killed over 43.000 Palestinians.