海角大神

A deal to secure the release of some of the hostages held in Gaza by Hamas militants is closer than ever in the Islamist group鈥檚 war with Israel, a White House official said on Sunday.

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

Fighting raged on Sunday, with Hamas militants battling Israeli forces trying to push into Gaza鈥檚 largest refugee camp, the day after Israeli and United States officials denied a Washington Post report that a deal had been reached.

鈥淲hat 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,鈥� Mr. Finer told NBC鈥檚 鈥淢eet the Press鈥� program.

鈥淚 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,鈥� he added.

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog also said in an interview on ABC鈥檚 鈥淭his Week鈥� that Israel is hopeful a significant number of hostages could be released by Hamas 鈥渋n coming days.鈥�

But Mr. Finer cautioned: 鈥淣othing is agreed until everything is agreed. Sensitive negotiations like this can fall apart at the last minute.鈥�

Hamas took about 240 hostages during its deadly cross-border rampage into Israeli communities on Oct. 7, which prompted Israel to lay siege to Gaza and invade the Palestinian territory to eradicate its ruling Islamist group.

鈥淲e鈥檙e talking about considerably more than 12 [hostages],鈥� Mr. Finer told NBC.

鈥淭his could and would likely include an extended period of a pause in the fighting, a multiple-day period,鈥� he added. 鈥淚t would enable us, we believe, to get more humanitarian assistance into Gaza. That鈥檚 a priority under any circumstances.鈥�

Mr. Finer also said Israel should not conduct combat operations against Hamas in the south of Gaza until military planners have taken into account the safety of fleeing Palestinian civilians.

鈥淚n the event that Israel is likely to embark on combat operations, including in the south, we believe ... that they have the right to do that,鈥� Mr. Finer told CBS鈥� Face the Nation program in a separate interview.

鈥淲e think that their operations should not go forward until those people, those additional civilians, have been accounted for in their military planning,鈥� he said.

Israel鈥檚 blitz has reduced swaths of the north to rubble, while some two-thirds of Gaza鈥檚 population of 2.3 million have been displaced to the south.

Gaza鈥檚 Health Ministry has raised its death toll from Israeli bombardment to 12,300, including 5,000 children.

Mr. Finer urged Israel to draw lessons from its military operations in the north of Gaza and provide enhanced protections for civilians by narrowing the area of active combat and by specifying where civilians can seek refuge.

On Saturday, Israel warned civilians in parts of southern Gaza to relocate as it girds for an offensive from the north.

The south has been repeatedly bombarded by Israel, rendering Israeli promises of safety absurd, Palestinians say.

This story was reported by Reuters. Additional reporting by Leah Douglas.