Hamas says Israel truce is close leading to freeing of women and child hostages

A Hamas official said the truce would see the exchange of Israeli hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israel

A protester shows photos of people held hostage by Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, during a demonstration outside Downing Street on November 19, 2023 to protest against antisemitism and to call for the release of the hostages. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Hamas could release dozens of Israeli hostages ‘in the coming days’, US and Israeli officials have said (Photo: Justin Tallis/Getty)

November 21, 2023 6:25 am(Updated 7:05 am)

Hopes are rising of an imminent deal to release hostages held by Hamas in Gaza after the group’s chief said a truce with Israel was near.

A Hamas official said negotiations were centred on how long the truce would last, arrangements for delivery of aid into Gaza and the exchange of Israeli hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

Both sides would free women and children and details will be announced by Qatar, which is mediating in the negotiations, the official, Issat el Reshiq, told Al-Jazeera.

It came after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement to Reuters that the group was “close to reaching a truce agreement” with Israel and has delivered its response to Qatari mediators.

TOPSHOT - An Israeli couple holding their national flag walk in front of graffiti calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip since the October 7 attack by Hamas militants in southern Israel, in Jerusalem on November 18, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP) (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images) — Families of captives have criticised the lack of transparency surrounding Israeli hostage negotiations (Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP via Getty)

Sources from Hamas and Islamic Jihad – which also participated in the attacks – told the AFP news agency that their groups had agreed to the terms of a truce deal.

In exchange, around 300 Palestinians, including women and children, would be released from Israeli jails.

Under the agreement, between 50 and 100 Israeli civilian and foreign hostages would be released, but no military personnel.

Hamas took about 240 hostages on 7 October, killing around 1,200 people after hundreds of terrorists entered Israel.

Reports have circulated for days that Israel and Hamas were nearing agreement on a peace deal that would see dozens of women and children held hostage in Gaza released in exchange for a five-day pause in fighting.

It was reported last week last week that Qatari mediators were seeking a deal for Hamas and Israel to exchange 50 hostages in return for a three-day ceasefire that would boost emergency aid shipments to Gaza civilians.

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that he hoped for an agreement “in the coming days”.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani has said that the remaining sticking points were “very minor.”

US President Joe Biden and other Washington officials said on Monday a deal was near, but an agreement has appeared close before.

“Sensitive negotiations like this can fall apart at the last minute,” White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer told NBC’s “Meet the Press” program on Sunday. “Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.”

(This story is being updated)