Brett McGurk, US envoy to the coalition against Islamic State, speaks to during news conference at the US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, March 5, 2016. Photo: REUTERS/Hadi Mizban/Pool/File Photo.

i24 News – US President Joe Biden’s main adviser on the Middle East said Saturday there would be a “significant pause” in the Israeli-Hamas war if hostages held by Hamas jihadists in Gaza are freed.

“The surge in humanitarian relief, the surge in fuel, the pause… will come when hostages are released,” Brett McGurk told a security conference in Bahrain.

Release of a large number of hostages would result in “a significant pause… and a massive surge of humanitarian relief,” he said.

Hamas militants seized about 240 hostages on October 7 when they surged across Gaza’s militarized border into southern Israel to kill around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.

In response, Israel is carrying out a relentless bombardment and ground offensive of targets in the Gaza Strip.