Israel said its spy chief had met with his US counterpart as part of efforts to secure the release of hostages still held in Gaza, AFP reports.

“The head of the Mossad, David Barnea, met yesterday (Friday) with the head of the CIA, Bill Burns, as part of the ceaseless efforts to advance another hostage release deal,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on behalf of the Mossad.

The Israeli statement did not specify where Friday’s meeting between Barnea and Burns took place.

“At this stage, Hamas is entrenching its positions like someone who is not interested in a deal and is striving to inflame the region during Ramadan at the expense of Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip,” it said.

“It should be noted that contacts and cooperation with the mediators are continuing all the time in an attempt to bring a reduction of the differences and advance agreements,” Israeli statement said.