White House officials have discussed possibly striking a unilateral deal with Hamas to release five American captives in Gaza if Israel does not reach a captive exchange deal with the group, reports NBC News, quoting two current US and two former US officials aware of the discussions, Al Jazeera reports.

Qatari mediators would help facilitate any such US deal, which would exclude Israel, the officials told NBC News. They provided no insight into what the US could offer Hamas in return for the captives’ release.

The White House believes the five captives are still in Gaza and the remains of three other US citizens killed on October 7 are in the enclave.