The White House is “optimistic” about the conclusion of a possible agreement on the release of hostages from the Gaza Strip, the spokesman for the American president said on Tuesday, News.ro reported with reference to AFP.

“We are optimistic about a fruitful and swift outcome,” announced John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council (NSC), the organization that reports directly to Joe Biden.

About 250 people were taken hostage in an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on October 7 in southern Israel.

According to Israeli authorities, more than 130 people are still being held hostage in the Gaza Strip, 25 of whom have been killed.

About 100 hostages were released as part of a truce brokered by Qatar in November, in which American emissaries were actively involved.

Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union (EU), announced the deaths of two Israeli hostages on Monday, releasing a video in which a female hostage, visibly under duress, announces their deaths.

According to News.ro, along with the “elimination” of Hamas, the recovery of the hostages is one of the goals of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu in the war in Gaza.

On Tuesday, the European Union (EU) added to the list of “terrorists” the name of 61-year-old Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, who is considered the architect of the attack on Israel on October 7.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz welcomed the “just and moral decision”.

Listed as “dead” by the Israeli army, Yahya Sinuar shrouds his movements in the strictest secrecy and has not appeared in public since October.

The Israeli army heavily bombed the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, a day after Israel announced the imminent end of an “intense” phase of armed confrontations with Hamas, 102 days after the start of a war that has been escalating tensions in the region.