"In the coming days, we will know whether or not we have an agreement. I want to say to you: if there is a deal and the hostages return, it will be thanks to your combat,” Zamir said.

The deal comes more than 20 months into the conflict -- and more than three months after a previous deal ended.

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 is seeking guarantees that a new U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal for Gaza would lead to the war's end, a source close to the militant group said on Thursday, as medics said Israeli strikes across the territory had killed scores more people.

It was not immediately clear whether the group was demanding any significant changes to the plan for a 60-day truce, hostage-for-prisoner swaps and talks on a permanent end to the Gaza war.

President Donald Trump has ramped up expectations around a possible 60-day ceasefire in the war in Gaza after he said Thursday that a response from Hamas was expected within the next day.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a controversial U.S.-backed aid distribution initiative supported by Israel, is currently the primary method for Palestinians in devastated Gaza to access supplies in designated spots after Israel lifted its aid blockade in mid-May.

U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani on Wednesday to discuss negotiations over a Gaza ceasefire deal, Axios reporter Barak Ravid posted on X.