US Secretary of State Rubio said he “hopes” that Israel and Hamas will be able to reach an agreement in the next few days to end the war in the Gaza Strip, NBC News reports.

“We hope they will move to indirect talks,” Rubio said. “It seems that the terms have been agreed upon in general, but now, obviously, there is a need to discuss how those terms will be implemented.”

The secretary of state said he spoke yesterday with Special Envoy Steve Wintkoff, who “is optimistic that indirect talks will begin fairly soon.”

“I think we are closer to our goal, and perhaps closer than we have been in a long time, and we are hopeful. But we also recognize that there are still some challenges ahead,” Rubio said.