Qatar negotiating Israel-Hamas deal to release 50 hostages, report says

According to the official, Hamas has agreed to the terms of the deal, but Israel has not and is continuing to negotiate the details. “The general outline of the deal is understood,” the Israeli official said in an interview with the Washington Post on Monday, requesting that his identity remain anonymous. 

Israeli minister Benny Gantz, who is in the war cabinet, said at a news conference on Wednesday: "Even if we are required to pause fighting in order to return our hostages, there will be no stopping the combat and the war until we achieve our goals." 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been reticent about offering details of the negotiations, added: "We have been working relentlessly for the release of the hostages, including using increased pressure since the start of the ground incursion."

On Sunday, US officials told the American news network CBS that one of the primary sticking points in negotiations was Israel’s demand for a complete list of the remaining living hostages held by Hamas.

Last week, reports of the negotiations indicated plans to release ten to 15 hostages in exchange for a one to two-day ceasefire. 

A provisional outline for the deal that was publicised on Monday included the release of up to 70 hostages held in Gaza and a five-day ceasefire alongside the simultaneous release of Palestinians incarcerated in Israel. 

Other Palestinian terror groups, like Islamic Jihad, also took hostages, including children, though the exact number of these hostages is unknown. 

A more comprehensive release of hostages is not on the table, according to the official who spoke to Reuters.