HOSTAGE DEAL CLOSE, SAYS U.S.

A deal for Hamas to release hostages taken during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel may be the closest yet and would require a multiday pause in the fighting in Gaza, U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer said. “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,” Finer told NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday.