Israel has said there is no deal yet on a prisoner swap with Hamas, as efforts appeared to gather pace on an accord that could see a Gaza-held soldier exchanged for hundreds of Palestinians.

“There is no deal yet,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told deputies from his right-wing Likud party, an official present at the meeting said.

“The question will be decided by the government and there will be a debate,” he said.

He spoke as rumours grew in Israel, Gaza and Egypt that the two sides were on the verge of sealing a deal in German-mediated talks to exchange Gilad Shalit, seized by Gaza militants in 2006, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners Israel holds.

A day after the Israeli president spoke of “prog-ress” in the negotiations, Shalit’s parents met senior government officials and a Hamas delegation arrived in Egypt, which has been a key player in the months of indirect talks.

“I will be reassured when my son is by my side, not before,” Noam Shalit, the 23-year-old prisoner’s father, said.

In Cairo, a senior Egyptian official said a deal has yet to be nailed down and signalled that a final list of Palestinian prisoners has not yet been agreed.

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