Netanyahu, Biden speak on ceasefire and hostage deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he spoke with President Joe Biden on Sunday about progress in negotiating a ceasefire and hostage deal.

A senior White House administration official confirmed the call to ABC News.

"The Prime Minister discussed with the US President the progress in negotiations for the release of our hostages, and updated him on the mandate he gave to the negotiating delegation to Doha, in order to promote the release of our hostages," Netanyahu's office wrote in a release about the call.

According to the White House, Biden and Netanyahu "discussed the fundamentally changed regional circumstances following the ceasefire deal in Lebanon, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and the weakening of Iran’s power in the region."

The call comes as Brett McGurk, the White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, is in the Middle East for negotiations. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that McGurk is there to hammer out the "final details" of an agreement.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Michelle Stoddart

Sunday marked 100 days since the Israel Defense Forces launched its military operation in northern Gaza, with the toll of dead and missing Palestinians now at 5,000 people, according to a report published by the Gaza media office in the Hamas-run territory.

Some 9,500 more people have been injured and 2,600 have been detained including women and children, the report said.

Israel continues striking targets across the strip. Over the last 24 hours, IDF attacks killed 24 Palestinians, according to data published by the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The report added that 46,565 Palestinians have been killed by Israel throughout Gaza since the war began in October 2023, with another 109,660 people injured.

Israeli attacks in the north of Gaza have targeted civilian infrastructures and hospitals, which combined with a siege of the area have worsened a humanitarian crisis there.

Calling for an end to the war, the Gaza media office report urged the international community -- including the UN -- to take immediate action to stop the assault and address the humanitarian crisis in the strip.

Israeli strikes on Gaza continued as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispatched senior negotiators to Qatar for ceasefire, prisoner and hostage release talks attended by President-elect Donald Trump's incoming Middle East adviser, Steven Witkoff, and President Joe Biden's outgoing adviser, Brett McGurk.

-ABC News' Samy Zyara and Jordana Miller

For the first time in months, Israeli sources are expressing cautious optimism that a Gaza ceasefire may be within reach before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

Officials close to the matter told ABC News on Sunday that a high-level Israeli delegation led by the head of the Mossad -- David Barnea -- arrived in Doha, Qatar, for a critical round of talks.

Others participating are Egyptian and U.S. officials including President-elect Donald Trump's incoming Middle East adviser, Steven Witkoff, and President Joe Biden's outgoing adviser, Brett McGurk.

Witkoff made a surprise visit to Israel Saturday and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to Israel's Channel 12, progress on some issues has been made -- including the ratio of Palestinian prisoners to be released and the details of the Israel Defense Forces' redeployment.

But some outstanding issues remain, including whether Hamas can provide Israel with a list of hostages who are alive. A Hamas official told Saudi media on Saturday that the group is ready to show flexibility.

The first phase of the deal is expected to last six to eight weeks, as the report suggests. A leaked hostage list by Hamas shows the names of two Americans to be released in the first phase. Seven Americans are among the 94 hostages, three of whom are presumed to still be alive.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Somayeh Malekian

Eight people were killed, including two children and two women, in an Israeli forces strike on a school sheltering displaced people in Jabalia, North Gaza, according to Gaza Civil Defense. Thirty people were injured in the strike, according to the Gaza Civil Defense

The Israel Defense Forces claimed the strike was targeting "terrorists in a command and control center" at the school.

-ABC News' Samy Zyara and Anna Burd