The U.S.-brokered talks, which have been deadlocked for months, involve Biden administration and Trump transition officials and could also involve the release of hostages.

Mr Blinken said he hopes to bring the deal to the finish line in the next two weeks. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Hamas has named 34 hostages, some of them believed to have died in captivity, who it says it would return to Israel in the first phase of an evolving if still elusive ceasefire in Gaza. The Palestinian militant group circulated the list to media outlets after Israel sent envoys to Qatar for fresh talks for a pause in the devastating war.