ROME (Reuters) - Families of Israeli hostages taken captive to Gaza by Islamist group Hamas urged U.S. President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday to work on a deal to free those still being held before winter.

President Biden met Wednesday with the families of American hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza, as the Biden administration says it stands ready to work with the incoming Trump administration toward the common goal of securing their release.

President Biden asked President-elect Trump during their two-hour meeting on Wednesday to work together in order to push for a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. Why it matters: Biden wants to use the two months he has left in office to break the prolonged deadlock in the negotiations over a Gaza deal.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Nov. 13 that Israel failed to fully address U.S. demands to ease civilian suffering in Gaza and called for an end to Israel’s war in Gaza.

The Biden administration gave Israel 30 days to increase the flow of aid, warning that aid shipments into Gaza in September had reached an alarmingly low level.

Officials say Israel has taken some steps to meet a US demand for more supplies to enter Gaza, but UN bodies say conditions have actually worsened.