A senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has presented to the Biden administration a new proposed ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas, an Israeli official told CNN.

US officials said the ceasefire deal was not 'imminent' and the pager and walkie-talkies explosions targeting strongholds of Hezbollah had complicated negotiations.

Wall Street Journal cites multiple US officials saying they are sceptical a ceasefire can be achieved before January.

Negotiations have been ongoing to clear two obstacles: Israel's demand to keep its forces in the Philadelphi corridor to maintain a buffer between Gaza and Egypt, and the specifics of an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

WASHINGTON—Despite months of painstaking effort, senior U.S. officials say they don’t expect Israel and Hamas to agree to a cease-fire and a hostage-release deal before the end of President Biden’s term.