Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of making demands in talks on a possible ceasefire in Gaza that contradict a framework deal brokered by Washington.

While Netanyahu spoke, some residents of Gaza City were trapped in houses and bodies lay uncollected in the streets after an intense new Israeli assault that Hamas says could wreck the prospects of a ceasefire.

Washington is pushing for a peace deal at talks in Egypt and Qatar to end the Gaza war, now in its tenth month. The head of Israel's Shin Bet intelligence agency was headed to Cairo to pursue the negotiations, Netanyahu's office said.

Speaking at a military ceremony in Israel, Netanyahu said: "I am committed to the framework deal for freeing our hostages, but the Hamas murderers are sticking to demands that contradict the framework, that endanger Israel."

He did not say what those demands were.

In Washington, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said many details still need to be hammered out to secure a deal.

"There's still miles to go before we close if we are able to close. So I don't want to say that it's immediately around the corner, but it does not have to be far out in the distance if everyone comes in this with the will to get it done," Sullivan told reporters.

In a statement, the Palestinian Islamist militant group said mediators had yet to provide it with updates on the state of the talks since it made concessions last week in response to a U.S.-backed Israeli peace offer.

Residents of Gaza City say this week's assault is comparable to the fiercest battle of the war, which destroyed the enclave's oldest and biggest settlement in the first weeks of fighting last year.