An Israeli spy chief is due to travel to Qatar on Friday for cease-fire talks, while the United States plans to put a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to a U.N. Security Council vote, increasing pressure on its allies.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Cairo on Thursday that he believed talks brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt could still lead to a ceasefire between Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel.

At the heart of the Qatari talks is a roughly six-week truce that would allow the release of 40 Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli jails, opening up more aid for Palestinians facing famine due to extreme food shortages Paving the way for the enclave.

Blinken said: “Negotiators continue to work hard. The differences are narrowing and we will continue to push for an agreement in Doha. It will still be a difficult job to achieve this goal. But I still believe it is possible.”

The main sticking point is that Hamas says it will only release the hostages as part of a deal to end the war, while Israel says it will only discuss a temporary pause.

A Palestinian official familiar with the mediation effort, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that Hamas had shown flexibility. Israel “continues to delay because it does not want to commit to ending the war in Gaza,” the official said.

Israeli spy chief David Bania will travel to Qatar on Friday to meet with mediators, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Israel said it expected the attack on Gaza City’s Al Shifa hospital to continue for several more days. The facility is the only partially functioning medical facility in the northern part of the enclave, where residents reported tanks, gunfire and flames on Thursday and has been under attack for four days.

Israel said Hamas gunmen were holding out at the medical center, but Hamas denied this. Israel claims to have killed 150 militants and captured 358 in and around the hospital in recent days.

US puts more pressure on Israel

Washington, which has historically defended Israel at the United Nations, has gradually put more pressure on its long-time ally, and the draft U.N. Security Council resolution marks further toughening.

The shift coincides with growing global condemnation of the five-month-old war, the deaths of Palestinian civilians, domestic political opposition to U.S. President Joe Biden’s stance and the prospect of man-made famine in Gaza.

A U.N. text seen by Reuters said an “immediate and sustained ceasefire” lasting about six weeks would protect civilians and allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Early in the war, the United States opposed the term ceasefire and vetoed measures including calls for an immediate ceasefire.

The new resolution expresses support for talks in Qatar, the release of Israeli hostages and the release of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. The Israeli embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

To pass the Security Council, a resolution needs at least nine votes in favor, with no vetoes from the United States, France, Britain, Russia or China. European Union leaders also called for an immediate ceasefire on Thursday.

The United States wants any Security Council support for a ceasefire to be tied to the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. According to Israeli statistics, Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages.

According to Gaza health authorities, the Israeli offensive has killed nearly 32,000 Palestinians.