Gaza War Reaches Stalemate As Biden Says Ceasefire Is In "The Hands of Hamas."

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that a deal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages was in the hands of Hamas, as delegations held a third day of talks with no sign of a breakthrough.

Negotiators from the Palestinian militant group, Qatar and Egypt - but not Israel - are in Cairo trying to secure a 40-day ceasefire in Hamas' war with Israel in time for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins early next week.

"Hamas understands military pressure and we are bringing it to them" Biden said.

Washington, Israel's main political and military backer and a sponsor of the talks, also put the onus squarely on Gaza's rulers.

"It’s in the hands of Hamas right now.

Israelis have been cooperating.

There’s been a rational offer," Biden told reporters.

"If we get to the circumstance that it [fighting] continues to Ramadan... it’s gonna be very dangerous."

Hamas official Osama Hamdan repeated his group's main demands: an end to the Israeli military offensive, withdrawal of Israeli forces, and the return of all Gazans to the homes they had been forced to flee.

He said any exchange of prisoners cannot take place except after a ceasefire, reflecting Hamas' view that a ceasefire must, above all, be a step towards a settlement of the conflict.