Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed optimism on Thursday that a hostage release deal with Hamas could be sealed in the near future.

“I hope we can complete it in a few days,” he told Newsmax’s Greta Van Susteren in an interview before flying back to Israel while indirect talks continued in Qatar amid signs of deadlock.

“We’ll probably have a 60-day ceasefire. Get the first batch out and then use the 60 days to try to negotiate an end to this,” he said on the last day of a four-day visit in which he met US President Donald Trump twice. “And this could end tomorrow — today, if Hamas lays down its arms.”

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“We think we can bring it to completion,” said Netanyahu. “So I wouldn’t tell you that we have a war goal that is unachievable. We’re going to defeat these monsters and get our hostages back.”

Netanyahu granted three interviews to US media during his trip, but none to Israeli press.

The Times of Israel