WASHINGTON—Despite months of painstaking effort, senior U.S. officials say they don’t expect Israel and Hamas to agree to a cease-fire and a hostage-release deal before the end of President Biden’s term.

Khaled Meshal, one of Hamas’s most senior officials, said in an interview that the militant group expects to play a decisive role in the enclave when the war is over.

US negotiators have been hoping a ceasefire might facilitate their goal of Saudi-Israeli normalization, but Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Wednesday the kingdom won’t recognize Israel without a Palestinian state. The families of those held in Hamas captivity have also expressed their displeasure with the pace of negotiations.

U.S. officials now believe that a Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas is not expected before the end of President Joe Biden's term in January, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Daily exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel have been destructive, disruptive and sometimes deadly. An escalation could risk starting a wider regional conflict.

A senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has presented to the Biden administration a new proposed ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas, an Israeli official told CNN.