The framework for a deal that calls for a six-week ceasefire in Gaza is on the table with Israel’s agreement and depends on Hamas agreeing to release hostages, a senior US administration official said on Saturday, Reuters and AFP reported.

“The Israelis have more or less accepted it. And a six-week ceasefire could begin today in Gaza if Hamas agrees to release a clearly defined category of vulnerable hostages,” the US official said in a media interview, adding that “discussions are ongoing” about the deal. agree before the start of Ramadan in a week.

Israeli and Hamas delegations are expected to arrive in Cairo on Sunday, two Egyptian security sources said, although another source briefed on the talks said Israel would not send a delegation until it had a full list of hostages still alive.

Hopes for a first cease-fire in November rose this week after an earlier round of talks brokered by Qatar and Egypt in Doha and indications from US President Joe Biden that a deal was close.

Hamas is not backing down from its position that a temporary truce should be the beginning of the process of ending the war completely, Egyptian sources and a Hamas official said.

However, Egyptian sources said Hamas had received assurances that the terms of a permanent ceasefire would be worked out in the second and third phases of the deal. According to sources, the duration of the initial break, which will last approximately six weeks, has already been agreed.