The deal to release hostages kidnapped by Hamas during its terrorist attack on Israel now only depends on “minor” practical issues, the Qatari prime minister said on Sunday in Doha.

US President Joe Biden said on Thursday there was currently "no possibility" of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has agreed to daily, four-hour humanitarian pauses in the fighting in northern Gaza, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed Thursday morning. 

JERUSALEM, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Israel on Sunday rejected growing calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, with military specialists saying that forces are set to intensify their operations against Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, with no time frame set for their activities.

On Monday Iran's foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian claimed that the United States is desperately seeking an end to the fighting to Gaza, despite Israel being nowhere near dismantling and destroying Hamas at the moment, which is Tel Aviv's stated aim.

TEL AVIV—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed growing international pressure for a pause in Israel’s strikes on Hamas, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israel to do more to protect civilians caught in the crossfire of its fight against Hamas, and hospitals in the enclave began to run out of fuel.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday rejected the idea of the US calling for a ceasefire in Gaza when confronted with the massive number of child casualties in Israel’s onslaught.

The US on Wednesday vetoed a Brazilian-proposed UN Security Council resolution that would have called for “humanitarian pauses” to allow the delivery of aid to Gaza.

On Monday, a group of progressive Democrats in the House introduced a resolution calling for de-escalation and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel.