A senior US government official has revealed details about the negotiations between the United States and relevant parties toward the possible release of hostages abducted last month in Israel by the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas.

The official said that in the early days of the crisis, the government under President Joe Biden set up a team within the White House to secretly discuss the matter with Israeli and Qatari counterparts. The move came at the request of Qatar, which has a channel of communication with Hamas.

The official mentioned that the return of two abducted American citizens late last month bolstered Biden's confidence in negotiations mediated by Qatar. This reportedly accelerated the process toward the broader release of the hostages.

According to the official, the US government told Hamas via Qatar that all women and children must be released in the first phase. The US side demanded through Qatar information to help identify the women and children being held by Hamas.

Hamas reportedly guaranteed the release of about 50 hostages in the first phase, but refused to produce a list of "identifying criteria" for them.

The official said the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, met with Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in the capital Doha on November 9 and discussed arrangements toward the disclosure of more information.

The official added that three days later, Biden called the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, and told him that the US needs clear information about the 50 hostages to be released, including their ages, genders and nationalities.

According to the official, the emir responded that he would do his utmost to get this done.

The official said that shortly after these phone talks, Hamas produced the identifying criteria of the 50 women and children to be released in the first phase.

Biden reportedly talked over phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on November 14. The official said the president persuaded him that "it was time to probably move forward with this deal," and Netanyahu finally agreed.