Israel-Gaza updates: Harris to meet with Israeli war Cabinet member on Monday

U.S. Department of State spokesperson Matt Miller had no comment on Hamas' calls for a march on Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, but Miller did call on the Israeli government to allow worshipers to access the site during the holy month of Ramadan, stressing it was in Israel's national security interest to avoid fueling tension in the occupied West Bank.

"I don’t have any comment on the call for marches," Miller said during a press briefing Wednesday. "I would just say, as it pertains to Al-Aqsa, we continue to urge Israel to facilitate access to Temple Mount for peaceful worshipers during Ramadan, consistent with past practice."

When asked whether the United States had received assurances that Israel -- a close ally -- would allow such access, Miller told reporters that the Biden administration was aware of "plans under consideration," but said he did not know if a final decision had been made.

"It's not just the right thing to do, it’s not just a matter of granting people religious freedom that they deserve, to which they have a right, but it's also a matter that directly is important to Israel’s security," he added.

The United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, has been mediating talks between Hamas and Israel since the war began.

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Progress toward reaching a hostage and cease-fire deal is slow, according to an Israeli political official with knowledge of the negotiations.

Gaps remain in the discussions surrounding the redeployment of Israeli forces to the Gaza Strip, residents returning to northern Gaza and how many Palestinian prisoners Israel is willing to release, the official said.

Israel’s war cabinet is expected to meet Thursday to discuss progress in the negotiations, the official said.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Hamas' political leader Ismail Haniyeh said Wednesday that they are showing "flexibility" in their ongoing negotiations with Israel but are "ready" to continue fighting.

"Any flexibility we are showing in the negotiations is to protect the blood of our people and to put an end to their huge pains and sacrifices in the brutal war of extermination against it," Haniyeh, chairman of Hamas' political bureau, said in a statement. "In parallel, [we are] ready to defend our people."

Haniyeh also called on Palestinians in Jerusalem and the Israeli-occupied West Bank to "march toward Al-Aqsa mosque from the first day of the holy month of Ramadan," which is March 10.

Israel has reportedly accepted a framework agreement of a six-week cease-fire with Hamas, during which 40 Israeli hostages being held in the war-torn Gaza Strip would be released in return for several hundred Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Hamas, on the other hand, has not commented on the specifics in that framework.

Hamas' main demands are that any agreement should include a path toward a more permanent end to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. However, Israel is not willing to accept that, which is why the framework it has reportedly agreed to would only see Israeli troops redeployed within Gaza and not withdrawn fully from the Hamas-ruled enclave.

-ABC News' Nasser Atta, Will Gretsky, Tom Soufi Burridge and Morgan Winsor

A supply of humanitarian aid was airdropped in the war-torn Gaza Strip on Tuesday in cooperation between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, France and the United States, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Approximately 160 packages of food, medical equipment and fuel were airdropped along Gaza's southern coastline using American, Egyptian, Emirati, French and Jordanian planes, the IDF said. The packages were subsequently transferred to residents of southern Gaza and the Jordanian field hospital in Khan Younis, according to the IDF.

Most aid that enters Gaza is in the south of the enclave, while the north has been isolated by the Israeli military and almost completely cut off from aid for weeks, according to the United Nations.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Morgan Winsor