A senior Biden administration official told The Washington Post on Sunday that the U.S. has been discussing with mediators Qatar and Egypt about a final “take it or leave it” deal which it plans to present “in the coming weeks.”

The past two weeks of talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and a captives release deal led to no breakthrough amid Israel’s insistence on continuing the war, senior member Khalil Al-Hayya has revealed.

Al-Hayya, who has been leading Hamas’s negotiating team, outlined the latest developments in the negotiations in an interview with Al Jazeera on Sunday.

His remarks came after two rounds of negotiations took place in Doha and Cairo last month under ongoing efforts to reach a deal following months of stalemate.

Al-Hayya said that Hamas had asked the mediators on Thursday on the outcomes of the past two weeks of talks, to which they responded that no agreement has been reached. According to Al-Hayya, the mediating countries also asked Israel “to develop solutions to all the disputed issues” as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented new conditions.

The Hamas official’s remarks came on the same day Israeli occupation forces uncovered the bodies of six captives from Rafah, southern Gaza, who were killed under the ongoing attacks on the area.

Al-Hayya said some were directly killed by occupation forces using live bullets, noting that all six could have been released alive under a deal.

“The insistence of the occupation army, Netanyahu, and his extremist government is the reason why these people lost their lives, along with dozens whom the occupation killed directly by bombing them along with those who sit with them, guard them, and live with them,” Al-Hayya said.

Al-Hayya said that Hamas had planned to release 23-year-old Israeli American captive, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, on humanitarian grounds following “the intervention of many people through the Qatari” side.

“We responded with humanitarian and political dimensions, to push towards progress towards concluding a real deal. We delivered to the Qatari brothers a video of this young man speaking to his mother and father,” Al-Hayya said, adding that all contact with the captive and his guards was lost, indicating that he was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Hamas continued the negotiations despite Israel’s assassinanation of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh on July 31 in Tehran. Israel has also intensified its brutal onslaught in the Gaza Strip throughout the negotiations, killing at least 40,786 people since the beginning of the war on October 7.

Some of the current key sticking points in the negotiations include Israel’s full withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor, Rafah Crossing and the Netzarim Corridor, which Netanyahu has rejected.

Al-Hayya also revealed that Hamas had demanded the release of 500 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for a male and female Israeli soldiers, and 250 for the others.

“When the mediators intervened and said there is a great opportunity if you provide flexibility in the exchange standards, we took the initiative immediately and offered flexibility from 500 to 50 for the female soldiers, and from 250 to 30 for civilians,” Al-Hayya said.

‘Take it or leave it deal’

Netanyahu has been under growing pressure since the discovery of the six deceased captives on Sunday, with at least 300,000 taking to the streets of Tel Aviv demanding a deal.

The General Organization of Workers in Israel, or the Histadrut, decided to go on strike on Monday in protest of Netanyahu’s refusal to agree to a deal by applying economic pressure on the Israeli government.

Israel’s Ben Gurion airport also went on strike between 8:00am and 10:00am local time as major transport companies went on strike until the afternoon.

According to Israeli media, the Bat Yam Labor Court ruled that the strike must be halted by 2:30pm local time. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich praises the court’s decision of the strike, which he called “political and illegal.”

U.S. President Joe Biden has also been under pressure to ensure a deal is reached as the presidential elections approach.

A senior Biden administration official told The Washington Post on Sunday that the U.S. has been discussing with mediators Qatar and Egypt about a final “take it or leave it” deal that it plans to present “in the coming weeks.”

“You can’t keep negotiating this. This process has to be called at some point,” the senior official  said, noting that the mediators have been working on the final proposal before six captives were found dead in Rafah on Sunday.

“Does it derail the deal? No, if anything, it should add additional urgency in this closing phase, which we were already in,” the official said.

U.S. officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, CIA chief Bill Burns, and Biden’s Middle East envoy have been travelling to the region, mainly Qatar and Egypt, in a bid to reach an agreement.

In his latest interview with Al Jazeera, Al-Hayya blamed the U.S. for the stalemate in the talks, saying it has been spreading false optimism.

“Unfortunately, the American administration is following two paths. The first is that it wants to reach the agreement, but it does not pressure the Israelis. Secondly, it spreads an atmosphere of unreal optimism and positivity,” the Hamas official said.