Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Hamas had rejected all elements of a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza that would help facilitate the release of hostages. Also on Wednesday,

Hamas called on the United States Thursday to "exert real pressure" on Israel to reach a Gaza ceasefire agreement as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was no deal in the making.Hamas's Qatar-based lead negotiator Khalil al-Hayya called on the US to "exert real pressure on Netanyahu and his government" and "abandon their blind bias" towards Israel.

The meeting was intended to try to get Hamas to ease its new demands on the release of additional Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in Israel.