TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that a “last-minute crisis” with Hamas was holding up Israeli approval of a long-awaited ceasefire that would pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip and release dozens of hostages. Israeli airstrikes, meanwhile, killed at least 72 people in the war-ravaged territory.

Negotiators are on the cusp of a viable deal to free the remaining hostages being held in Gaza. NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell details the parallels between the 1979 Iran hostage crisis and the Hamas release timeline.

Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages, two officials involved in the talks said Tuesday. Mediators from the United States and Qatar said Israel and the Palestinian militant group were at the closest point yet to sealing a deal to bring them a step closer to ending 15 months of war.

The deal, mediated by the United States, offered a glimmer of hope in a conflict that has taken an immense human toll.