A deal to secure the release of some of the hostages held in Gaza by Hamas is closer than ever, a White House official said, Reuters reports.

White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said an agreement to free “considerably more than 12” hostages would also likely include an extended pause in the fighting and allow for the distribution of humanitarian assistance in Gaza.

“What I can say at this point is that some of the outstanding areas of disagreement, in a very complicated, very sensitive negotiation, have been narrowed,” Finer told NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ programme.

“I believe we are closer than we have been in quite some time, maybe closer than we have been since the beginning of this process, to getting this deal done,” he added.