US President Joe Biden’s main adviser on the Middle East has said there would be a “significant pause” in the Israel-Hamas conflict if hostages held in Gaza are freed, AFP reports.

“The surge in humanitarian relief, the surge in fuel, the pause… will come when hostages are released,” Brett McGurk told a security conference in Bahrain.

Release of a large number of hostages would result in “a significant pause… and a massive surge of humanitarian relief,” he said.

So far efforts by Qatar have led to the release of four of the captives. A fifth hostage, a soldier, was rescued in an Israeli operation.