Channel 12 reports that the completion of the hostage deal will lead to the release of 30 children, eight mothers and 12 women held by Hamas in Gaza, the Times of Israel reported.

Hamas says it cannot immediately locate about 10 other children abducted from Israel in the shocking attacks on October 7.

Hamas said it was holding 210 of the roughly 240 hostages kidnapped last month, including about 40 children. Islamic Jihad is said to be holding many of the remaining hostages.

Israel believes that Hamas may be able to find and free 30 more Israeli women and children.

A source familiar with the talks said earlier that Hamas would release 50 women and children, including some foreigners, while Israel released 150 Palestinian prisoners, mostly women and minors, during the four-day truce.

A U.S. official briefed on the Qatari-facilitated talks gave the same figures for each side’s release, saying the 50 hostages to be freed would be mostly women and children, and that fighting had been halted for four to five days.

There is a preliminary agreement, but it is not final until everything is agreed, the official said.

“We believe we are very, very close to reaching an agreement,” the official told Reuters. “There’s still a lot of work to do, we still need to get approval, but we think we’re very close.”

It would be the first truce of the six-week war and the first mass release of hostages on both sides.

For Hamas, hostages would be the only strong card, CNN notes. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the West Bank, the Israeli military has been attacking Gaza from the air and on the ground, killing at least 12,700 Palestinians since October 7. Gaza.

The second stage of the agreement

A government source previously said the hostage deal would include a second phase in which Hamas would act to find women and children held by other terrorist groups in Gaza before their possible release.

“No impact on the goal of destroying Hamas”

Israeli ground forces spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari hinted that the new hostage deal, which would include a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, would not affect the army’s main goal of destroying the terrorist group Hamas, the Times of Israel reported.

“The goal of returning the hostages is important. Even if it leads to the reduction of some other things, we will know how to restore our operational achievements,” Hagari says in response to a question.

Referring to the announcement of the agreement, Hagari said the military would first inform the families of the hostages and then the public.

On the same topic:

• Netanyahu and Hamas leader say temporary ceasefire and release of hostages ‘very close’ / Israeli government meeting