WASHINGTON: The United States is “hopeful” that talks brokered by Qatar could lead to a new deal between Israel and Hamas to release hostages in exchange for a ceasefire in Gaza, the White House said .

“I don’t want to say too much publicly here as we have these talks, but we’re hopeful that it can bear fruit, and bear fruit soon,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told a briefing.

The US Senate rejected a resolution that would have forced the State Department to produce a report within 30 days examining whether Israel committed human rights violations in its campaign against Hamas in Gaza, Reuters reports.

The vote was forced by Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.

“We must ensure that US aid is being used in accordance with human rights and our own laws,” Sanders said in a speech before the vote urging support for the resolution, lamenting what he described as the Senate’s failure to consider any measure looking at the bombardment’s effect on civilians.