Hamas said it would release a US-Israeli hostage held in Gaza as the group revealed it was engaged in direct talks with the United States towards a ceasefire in the war-battered territory.

"Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, a dual US national, will be released as part of efforts towards a ceasefire" and the reopening of aid crossings, the Palestinian militant group said in a statement.

The family of 21-year-old Alexander said they had been informed that he might be released "in the coming days".

Earlier, two Hamas officials said that talks were ongoing in the Qatari capital of Doha with the United States and reported "progress" had been made.

Israeli strikes meanwhile continued, with Gaza's civil defence agency reporting that at least 12 people were killed on Sunday including four young children.

Gaza militants hold 58 hostages seized during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Hamas's 2023 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Sunday that at least 2,720 people have been killed since Israel resumed its campaign, bringing the overall death toll since the war broke out to 52,829. (AFP)