US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced hope for a deal to halt the Israel-Hamas fighting in Gaza in exchange for liberating hostages, after talks in Paris involving mediator Qatar, AFP reports.

“Very important, productive work has been done. And there is some real hope going forward,” Blinken told reporters after meeting earlier in the day in Washington with Qatar’s prime minister.

“Hamas will have to make its own decisions. I can just tell you that there is good, strong alignment among the countries involved that this is a good, strong proposal,” Blinken said.

The meeting Sunday in Paris brought together CIA chief William Burns with top officials from Israel, Egypt and Qatar, a US ally which is home to a Hamas office.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who attended the talks, said “good progress” had been made and the parties were “hoping to relay this proposal to Hamas and to get them to a place where they engage positively and constructively in the process.”