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Hamas is expected to release 33 hostages during the first phase of an emerging ceasefire agreement being finalized by negotiators in Doha, two Israeli officials said, the first positive sign in months that a truce in the Israel-Hamas war may be in sight.
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Officials have expressed cautious optimism that a deal could soon be announced to halt 15 months of fighting that has destabilized the Middle East and devastated Gaza, allow for more aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave, and ensure the return of dozens of hostages held by Hamas since its attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Hamas and its allies still hold 94 of the 251 hostages taken from Israel, including at least 34 of whom are dead, according to the Israeli government.
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Israel believes that most of the 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the deal are alive, a senior Israeli official told reporters on Monday, but the bodies of dead captives will also likely be among those released. The first phase would take place over an initial 42-day ceasefire.
The senior Israeli official said the parties appear to be on the verge of an agreement and that Israel is prepared to immediately implement the deal once it has been inked.
US President Joe Biden expressed similar optimism in a speech Monday focused on foreign policy, saying the United States was “pressing hard to close this.”
“The deal we have structured would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started. They have been through hell,” Biden said |