Joe Biden said on Monday he felt a deal was close to freeing hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip on the sidelines of a White House ceremony, AFP and Reuters reported.

The journalist asked him: “Is the agreement on the release of the hostages close?”, and the American president answered: “I think so.”

To the journalist’s repeated question, he answered: “Yes!” and obviously crossed his fingers.

“We’ve never been this close, we’re sure. But there is still work to do. Nothing will be done until it’s over,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

According to the estimates of the Israeli military, about 240 people taken hostage by Hamas were taken to Gaza.

Qatar, which is brokering efforts to secure their release in exchange for a truce, said on Sunday that only “very minor” obstacles remained to the deal.

These achievements have not been confirmed by Hamas or Israel, whose government refuses to accept any ceasefire without the release of the hostages.