National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said he could not confirm reports that Hamas has sexually assaulted hostages, but he said the reports are "believable."

"I can't confirm these individual reports and stories," Kirby said, calling them "horrific."

"Sadly, because of who we're dealing with, we certainly aren't in a position to disabuse these reports," Kirby continued. "And the truth is, they're believable, just on the face of it, because of who these guys are, and what they believe. And because we have heard other accounts from other survivors that have come back and other hostages."

According to Israeli officials, 138 people are still being held hostage by Hamas. Over 100 women and children have been released.

"We know that Hamas is holding some additional women and children," Kirby said. "Let's get the remaining women and children out and get them out from under the jackboot of Hamas and potential sexual violence."

-ABC News' Fritz Farrow

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told ABC News on Thursday that involved parties are "not close" to a deal for additional pauses to secure the release of hostages.

"Talks are still ongoing, discussions are happening. … I wish I had specific progress to speak to -- I don't," Kirby said.

"We're not close to inking another deal on a humanitarian pause," he said, "nor do I have any news to break here today about the return of hostages."

"We’re still trying to get as much information as we can about the hostages being held," Kirby said. "We have some information, as I said before on some of the hostages, because their families are talking to us, and that's been a terrific source of information and context."

"We have less information on others," Kirby added. "But not for lack of trying."

-ABC News' Fritz Farrow

There are "some promising signs" in the negotiations to open the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel into Gaza for humanitarian access, according to Martin Griffiths, the United Nation's under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

"There are promising signs now that that may be able to open soon," Griffiths said. "If we get that, well, it would be the first miracle we've seen for some weeks, but it would be a huge boost to the logistical process and logistical base of a humanitarian operation. It doesn’t mean to say that it will solve the security problems … but it will change the nature of humanitarian access."

Aid trucks are still crossing daily through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt into Gaza as Gaza's humanitarian crises worsens, Griffiths said, but many roads along that route have been destroyed, making access difficult.

For the first time, more dead than injured arrived at Gaza's Al-Aqsa Hospital on Wednesday, according to Doctors Without Borders.

The hospital has been receiving approximately 150 to 200 injured people per day over the last week. Now, 115 arrived dead at the hospital in 24 hours, Doctors Without Borders said.

"The hospital is full, the morgue is full," Doctors Without Borders said. "We call on Israeli Forces to stop the indiscriminate bombing of the Gaza Strip and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure. We need a cease-fire now."

The United States believes eight Americans are still being held hostage by militants in the war-torn Gaza Strip, according to White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

"We think there's about eight hostages that are Americans. We know of at least one woman in that group," Kirby told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos in an interview Wednesday on "Good Morning America."

"We're doing everything we can to try to get them released," he continued. "We're constantly engaged with our partners in the region to try to get this humanitarian pause back in place, so that the flow of hostages can renew."

Although a temporary cease-fire between Israel and Gaza's militant rulers, Hamas, ended last week, the U.S. is "still flowing in humanitarian assistance" to civilians in Gaza, according to Kirby.

"And we're trying to get it up to the level that it was during the pause," he noted.

When asked about what Israel's "endgame" might be in its war against Hamas as Israeli troops expand their offensive across all of Gaza, Kirby said: "That's really something for the Israeli's to speak to."

"We obviously want to see Hamas eliminated as a threat to the Israeli people," he added. "That hasn't been achieved yet. They're going after the leadership as best they can. They believe they need to operate in the south. We've told them you know we’ll continue to support their military operations but we want to make sure that as they do that they're factoring in those innocent civilian lives as much as possible."

-ABC News' Morgan Winsor