“We have reason to believe that one of those Americans will be released today,” Sullivan told NBC’s Meet the Press.
Sullivan declined to give the identity of the hostage who might be released. When asked whether it was a four-year-old girl whose parents were killed, he said: “We have a sense of who it is but I am just not in a position to confirm it.”
US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have a call scheduled for later on Sunday, Sullivan told CBS News.
02:40
Gaza residents gather around a massive crater ahead of pause in war with Israel
Gaza residents gather around a massive crater ahead of pause in war with Israel
Netanyahu on Sunday met security forces inside Gaza and indicated that the campaign was far from over.
“Nothing will stop us, and we are convinced that we have the strength, the power, the will and the determination to achieve all the goals of the war, and that is what we will do,” he said.
Israel and Hamas have agreed to swap 50 hostages held by the Palestinian militant group for 150 prisoners in Israeli jails over a four-day truce period.
So far, Hamas has released 26 Israelis and four Thai nationals it had held as hostages, while Israel has freed 78 Palestinians.
Egypt, which is helping to mediate the deal, says it has received lists of 13 Israelis and 39 Palestinians scheduled for a third release on Sunday.
‘That’s my son!’ Thai family overjoyed as second group of hostages are freed
‘That’s my son!’ Thai family overjoyed as second group of hostages are freed
It is the first halt in the conflict since Hamas fighters rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages.
In response to that attack, Israel vowed to destroy the Hamas militants who run Gaza, bombarding the enclave and mounting a ground offensive in the north. Palestinian health authorities say some 14,800 people, roughly 40 per cent of them children, have died.
In London, thousands of protesters against antisemitism marched on Sunday to protest against a rise in hate crimes against Jews.
Protesters carried placards with the message “Shoulder to shoulder with British Jews” and “Zero tolerance for anti-Semites.” Others showed the faces of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Some people sang in Hebrew while others chanted “Bring them home” in reference to the hostages.
London’s Metropolitan Police received reports of 554 antisemitic offences between October 1 and November 1, up from 44 a year earlier, a more than 10-fold increase. Reports of Islamophobic offences almost tripled to 220 during the same period.
Police arrested a far-right activist, Tommy Robinson, at the start of Sunday’s march after he refused to leave the area at the request of police officers.
Organisers of the protest had asked Robinson not to attend because of the distress his presence was likely to cause.
Sunday’s march took place a day after a latest demonstration in the British capital by pro-Palestinian protesters calling for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Police estimated 45,000 people marched in the demonstration on Saturday. They did not immediately have an estimate for the size of Sunday’s march.
“I want this march to achieve for people to understand there is no place for racism in this country,” Kate Worth, a travel agent, said. “We are all equal. And it’s absolutely unacceptable what is happening right now for Jewish people.”
Additional reporting by Reuters