Biden wants Hamas to agree to a ceasefire and release of Israeli hostages ... trends now

US President Joe Biden is urging Egypt and Qatar to pressure Hamas to agree to a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages during peace talks this weekend.

Biden wrote to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Qatar's ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on Friday, calling on them to press Hamas for a hostage deal with Israel, according to a senior administration official. 

This comes a day after a senior Hamas leader rejected the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal from Egypt on Thursday. 

Meanwhile, Biden called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to redouble efforts to reach a cease-fire in the six-month-old war in Gaza.

The official, who spoke anonymously to discuss the letters, said national security adviser Jake Sullivan will meet Monday with family members of the hundreds of hostages - including American citizens - who are still believed to be in Gaza. 

The letters come as Biden deployed CIA Director William Burns to Cairo for talks this weekend about the hostage crisis.

David Barnea, the head of Mossad, Israel's spy agency, and negotiators from Egypt and Qatar are expected to attend. 

The Hamas side of the talks is indirect, with proposals sent through third parties to Hamas leaders sheltering in terror tunnels beneath Gaza.

The first phase of the proposed deal would secure the release of women and elderly, sick and wounded hostages. 

Biden emphasized the need to get a hostage deal done during the Thursday conversation with Netanyahu, according to White House national security spokesman John Kirby. 

'We are coming up on six months — six months that these people have been held hostage. And what we have to consider is just the abhorrent conditions' the hostages are being held in, Kirby said. 'They need to be home with their families.' 

Biden said he 'made clear that everything must be done to secure the release of hostages, including American citizens,' and discussed 'the importance of fully empowering Israeli negotiators to reach a deal' with Netanyahu, the official said. 

Biden also told Netanyahu the airstrikes that killed seven aid workers were 'unacceptable' on Thursday, and demanded he push toward an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

He warned Bibi that Israel could lose American support if civilians kept getting hurt and killed. The White House said it

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