US President Joe Biden on has signaled that a deal to free hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and a temporary truce is “now very close”, AFP reports.

“We are now very close, very close. We could bring some of these hostages home very soon. But I don’t want to get into the details of things, because nothing is done until it’s done,” he said at the White House.

“Things are looking good at the moment,” he added.