Families of Israeli hostages taken captive to Gaza by Islamist group Hamas urged U.S. President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday to work on a deal to free those still being held before winter.

President Biden met Wednesday with the families of American hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza, as the Biden administration says it stands ready to work with the incoming Trump administration toward the common goal of securing their release.

President Biden asked President-elect Trump during their two-hour meeting on Wednesday to work together in order to push for a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. Why it matters: Biden wants to use the two months he has left in office to break the prolonged deadlock in the negotiations over a Gaza deal.

Israel said it had launched a military operation against Hamas early Wednesday morning inside Gaza’s largest hospital Al-Shifa, where thousands of Palestinians are believed to be sheltering.

Organizers want to rally support for the Israeli military campaign against Hamas and protest an increase in antisemitic incidents across the nation.

President Joe Biden said on Monday he had told Israel he had concerns about conditions at and around the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza where its forces are fighting with Hamas. "I have not been reluctant in expressing my concerns about what's going on and it's my hope and expectation that it will be less intrusive action relative to the hospital,