Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz held a phone call with United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and informed him that a deal between Israel and Hamas is possible, Katz's office said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Minister Katz updated Secretary of Defense Austin on the negotiations for the release of the hostages, and said that there is now a chance for a new deal that will allow the return of all the hostages, including those with American citizenship," the statement read.

The two officials also discussed the new developments in Syria after the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime and the Israeli seizure of the buffer zone in the Golan Heights established by a 1974 ceasefire agreement with Syria.