U.S. President Joe Biden, in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, stressed the urgent need to conclude a Gaza cease-fire-for-hostages deal and pointed to upcoming Cairo talks as crucial, the White House said.

Their call followed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's whirlwind trip to the Middle East that ended on Tuesday without an agreement between Israel and Hamas militants on a truce in the Palestinian enclave.

Negotiators who have struggled for months to conclude a cease-fire deal plan to meet in the coming days in Cairo.