U.S. President Joe Biden said on December 20 that he did not expect an Israel-Hamas deal for the release of hostages held in Gaza to be struck soon.Efforts are underway to try to arrange for the release of more hostages, with the heads of the U.S. CIA, Israel’s Mossad, and Qatar’s prime minister expected to meet and discuss the issue.Israel and Hamas agreed to a week-long ceasefire at the end of November, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, that included the release of more than 100 hostages from Gaza in exchange for 240 Palestinian women and teenagers from Israeli jails.Some of the hostages who remained in Gaza have been declared dead in absentia by Israeli authorities.