Hostage deal reportedly close to completion, around 50 hostages could be released
While rumors and reports about a possible deal to free Israeli hostages in Gaza have been swirling for several days, the deal seems closer than ever to completion.
Hostages, currently in the hands of Hamas, may be released in exchange for several days of a pause in missile fire.
Officials in the U.S. and Qatar told several news outlets on Sunday that the deal only hinges on minor, practical details about the number of hostages and the length of the pause.
The deal under discussion is expected to free about 50 hostages, mainly children and their mothers. In exchange, Israel would free dozens of female and underage Palestinian prisoners, and agree to a fire pause of several days.
Another factor slowing the discussions is Hamas' claim that it doesn’t know the exact locations of all the children and their mothers being held hostage, adding that it, therefore, needs the pause in missile fire to locate them all.
On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had dismissed “a lot of incorrect reports” about recent imminent agreements and said that there was no deal “as of now,” according to the Times of Israel.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
