Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told US media a deal could be afoot to free hostages being held in the Gaza Strip, but declined to provide details for fear of scuttling the potential plan, AFP reports.

“We heard that there was an impending deal of this kind or of that kind and then we learned that it was all hokum. But the minute we started the ground operation, that began to change,” Netanyahu told NBC News show ‘Meet the Press’.

Asked whether there is a potential deal to free more of the hostages being held, Netanyahu replied: “There could be.”