The families of Americans kidnapped by Hamas and held in Gaza since October 7 are petitioning the Biden administration to cut a separate deal — apart from the one Israel is negotiating — with the Palestinian terror group to free their loved ones, NBC News reported Thursday.

The report said that the relatives met with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Sunday, hours after the IDF recovered the bodies of six hostages executed by Hamas in Gaza last week, including American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin. The relatives were said to have pushed for Washington to look at other ways of securing freedom for their loved ones aside from a so-far elusive hostage-Palestinian prisoner exchange and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas being mediated by the US, Egypt, and Qatar.

Officials told the families that they would look at “every option” but that a deal between Israel and Hamas is still the best way to proceed, the report said citing people familiar with the meeting.

People familiar with the discussions told the outlet that the idea of a unilateral deal had been floated as family members and some administration officials were becoming convinced that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not reach an agreement with Hamas. Critics accuse Netanyahu of shying away from a deal to satisfy far-right members of his coalition, who want the war to continue until Hamas is toppled.

Ninety-seven of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including seven US citizens. This total includes the bodies of at least 33 confirmed dead by the IDF, three of whom are American.

In an indication that a unilateral deal is being mulled, the Biden administration has drawn up a list of prisoners held in the US that Hamas might trade in exchange for American hostages, two former and two current US officials aware of the plans told NBC. According to one official, there are five names on the list.

Current and former officials said the possible prisoners the US has to offer include the leaders of a Texas-based charity, Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. The five heads of the charity were in 2008 convicted of sending over $12 million to Hamas. They are serving between 20 and 65 years in prison.

However, one administration official told the network that the idea of cutting a separate deal with Hamas is not realistic as the US does not have enough to bargain with for the American hostages.

“Hamas wants two things that only Israel can deliver: a ceasefire and nearly 1,000 Palestinian prisoners currently in Israeli jails,” the unnamed official said. “Every other proposal has gone nowhere because that is what Hamas demands for the hostages.” the official added.

NBC News said that neither the Qatari government, which has been mediating between Israel and Hamas, nor a representative of the families of US hostages would comment on the report.

The hostages were taken as Hamas led a devastating cross-border attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Israel responded with a military offensive to destroy Hamas in Gaza and free the hostages.

On Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller was asked during a press briefing if Washington was considering a unilateral deal with Hamas.

“Our entire focus has been on securing an agreement to get home all the hostages. That, of course, includes the American hostages,” he said. “Our first priority is always the safety and security of American citizens overseas. We are focused on a deal that would bring them home, along with all the other American hostages.

Asked whether that could also mean a unilateral deal, Miller said only, “We are working on a deal to get all of them home.”

In June NBC News had a similar report of discussions for a unilateral deal, but the proposal did not advance at the time, with some senior administration officials strongly against it, the network said. US President Joe Biden also sought at the time to continue the track of obtaining a deal between Israel and Hamas to end the war.

At the time, Washington asked Qatari officials to put out feelers to Hamas, US officials told NBC News. However, the move did not get off the ground, they said.