The talks in Paris will focus on a hostage deal that could pause the fighting in Gaza.

American-led negotiators have moved closer to an agreement in which Israel would suspend its war in Gaza for about two months in exchange for the release of more than a hundred hostages still held by Hamas, a deal that could happen in the next two weeks are sealed. will be the subject of talks in Paris on Sunday.

Negotiators have developed a written draft agreement that combines Israel and Hamas's proposals from the past 10 days into a basic framework that, if accepted, would transform the conflict consuming the region. While key differences still need to be resolved, negotiators are cautiously optimistic that a final deal is within reach, according to U.S. officials who insisted on anonymity to discuss sensitive talks.

President Biden spoke separately by phone Friday with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, who have served as intermediaries with Hamas, to narrow remaining differences. He is also sending his CIA director, William J. Burns, to Paris for Sunday's talks with Israeli, Egyptian and Qatari officials. If Mr. Burns makes sufficient progress, Mr. Biden could send his Middle East coordinator, Brett McGurk, who just returned to Washington, back to the region to help finalize the deal.

In a statement in Israel on Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed his commitment to securing the release of the hostages who were not released as part of a more limited deal in November. “As of today, we have returned 110 of our hostages and we are committed to returning them all home,” he said. “We have to deal with this and we do it 24 hours a day, even now.”

The hostages have been in captivity since October 7, when Hamas gunmen stormed into Israel, killing an estimated 1,200 people and seizing another 240 in the worst terrorist attack in the country's history. Israel's military retaliation has since killed more than 25,000 people, most of them women and children, according to Israel's Health Ministry. It is not clear how many of the dead in Gaza were Hamas fighters.

A new deal could also de-escalate the volatile situation in the wider Middle East. During the seven-day lull in November, other Iranian proxy groups, such as the Houthis and Hezbollah, also halted low-level attacks they had mounted against American, Israeli and other targets.