Israeli tanks operate next to destroyed buildings during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, July 3, 2024. (Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo)

The White House is scrambling to put forward a new proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and the release of hostages by Hamas in the coming days, two US officials, two Egyptian security sources and an official with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The new proposal aims to work out the major sticking points behind a months-long impasse in talks mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt seeking a truce in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the US officials said.

Much of the deal has been agreed upon, a senior Biden administration official separately told reporters on Wednesday, but negotiators were still trying to hammer out solutions to two main obstacles.

Those are Israel's demand to keep forces in the Philadelphi corridor, a buffer zone in southern Gaza on the border with Egypt, and the specific individuals who would be included in an exchange of Hamas hostages and Palestinian prisoners in Israel, said the administration official, who declined to be identified.