White House says hostage killings add urgency to Gaza ceasefire talks

Washington: The killing by Hamas militants of six hostages, whose bodies were recovered by Israeli troops over the weekend, underscores the urgency for a ceasefire deal in Gaza and release of the remaining captives, the White House said on Tuesday.

"Clearly what happened over the weekend underscores how important it is to get this done as quickly as possible," White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a briefing, adding that Hamas was responsible for their deaths.

The United States and its allies have been pushing hard to negotiate a ceasefire-for-hostages deal to bring at least a temporary stop to the Gaza conflict in exchange for the release of sick, elderly and wounded hostages.

But an agreement has been elusive. US officials have been working on what some officials call a final proposal, but Kirby was quick to say the United States would not be pushing a "take it or leave it" concept.

"We're working on a proposal that will secure the release of the remaining hostages and will include massive and immediate relief for the people of Gaza and also result in a stoppage of the fighting," he said.

He said he did not have a timeframe on when the proposal would be formally presented.

"We are still in constant consultations with Qatar, Egypt and Israel, and of course, Qatar and Egypt are in touch with Hamas, and we're going to do what we can to get it done," said Kirby.

President Joe Biden said on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to do more to reach a ceasefire agreement.