A White House spokesperson said Israel and Hamas have not yet reached a deal on a temporary pause in fighting on Saturday night, despite an earlier report suggesting a tentative agreement had been brokered.

The U.S. is continuing to work to get a deal between the two sides, the spokesperson said. A second U.S. official confirmed no deal had been reached.

The Washington Post reported earlier on Saturday night that a Qatari-brokered deal between Israel and Hamas had been reached for a five-day ceasefire in exchange for 50 or more hostages.It comes after Israel's government vowed to destroy Hamas following the militant group's Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel.Nearly 240 people — from babies to grandparents, and even foreign nationals — are believed to be in the Gaza Strip after being taken hostage by Palestinian militants during assaults on southern Israeli villages and army bases.Israel says Hamas and other armed factions from Gaza killed 1,200 Israelis in the attack, while the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza estimates Israel's military assault on the territory that followed has killed more than 12,300 people so far — including roughly 5,000 children.

No deal yet, but we continue to work hard to get a deal," Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House's National Security Council, said in a social media post.

It comes after Israel's government vowed to destroy Hamas following the militant group's Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel.Nearly 240 people — from babies to grandparents, and even foreign nationals — are believed to be in the Gaza Strip after being taken hostage by Palestinian militants during assaults on southern Israeli villages and army bases.

Israel says Hamas and other armed factions from Gaza killed 1,200 Israelis in the attack, while the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza estimates Israel's military assault on the territory that followed has killed more than 12,300 people so far — including roughly 5,000 children.

The United Nations deems those figures credible, though they are now updated infrequently as war devastation has hampered communications. The Israeli military said five of its soldiers had been killed in Gaza since Friday, bringing its losses to 57 since entering the territory.

March held for hostages

On Saturday, the families of Israeli hostages and thousands of their supporters arrived in Jerusalem at the end of a five-day march to confront the government over the plight of those held captive in Gaza.

There were roughly 20,000 marchers estimated to be taking part, including well-wishers who joined the procession along the main Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway.

Many relatives and friends of the missing fear they will come to harm in Israeli attacks on Gaza designed to destroy Hamas. The government says the offensive improves the chances of recovering hostages, perhaps through a mediated prisoner exchange.

"I feel that people think that there is time. But for babies and for elderly people with difficult complex needs, there's no time. Time is running out rapidly," said London-based artist Sharone Lifschitz, whose 83-year-old father was abducted.