CIA Director William Burns and MI6 Chief Richard Moore said their agencies had “exploited our intelligence channels to push hard for restraint and de-escalation.”

In an opinion piece for the Financial Times, the two spymasters said a ceasefire in Israel’s Gaza war “could end the suffering and appalling loss of life of Palestinian civilians and bring home the hostages after 11 months of hellish confinement.”

Burns has been heavily involved in efforts to broker an end to the Israeli war, travelling to Egypt in August for high-level talks aimed at bringing about a captive release deal and at least a temporary halt to the conflict.

So far there has been no agreement, though United States officials insist a deal is close. US President Joe Biden said recently that “just a couple more issues” remain unresolved. However, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has denied reports of a breakthrough describing them as “exactly inaccurate."

​“I cannot tell you how close we are right now,” Burns told an audience at the FT Weekend Festival at London's Kenwood House.

He said that while 90 percent of the text has been agreed between the warring sides, “the last 10 percent is the last 10 percent for a reason, because it’s the hardest part to do.”

Burns said ending the war would require “some hard choices and some political compromises” from both Israel and Hamas.

Netanyahu's remarks follow Biden's response of "no" when asked if the Israeli leader was doing enough to secure a ceasefire.

The US and the United Kingdom are both staunch allies of Israel, though London diverged from Washington on Monday by suspending some arms exports to Israel because of the risk they could be used to break international law.

Burns and Moore stressed the strength of the trans-Atlantic relationship in the face of “an unprecedented array of threats,” including an assertive Russia, an ever-more powerful China and the constant threat from international terrorism.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.