Qatar: Israel-Hamas hostage deal faces minor obstacles, nearing completion

There are "minor" challenges facing a deal to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas, and they are mainly logistical issues, Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said, amid reports an agreement might be imminent.

"The deal is going through ups and downs from time to time... but I think that I am now more confident we are close enough to reach a deal," he told a joint press conference with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Doha.

"The sticking points honestly at this stage are more practical, logistical, not really something represent the core of the deal... The challenges that remain in the negotiations are very minor," he added.

Efforts to reach a ceasefire and secure the release of hostages have been ongoing for weeks, as Qatar and Egypt act as mediators between Hamas and Israel.

Earlier, US and Israeli reports said a possible agreement on the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip might be taking shape.

Hamas signalled it was prepared in principle to release 87 hostages, Israel's N12 channel reported on Saturday evening. The hostages in question include 53 women, children and young people and 34 foreigners.

In return, Israel would have to commit to a five-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of female Palestinian prisoners, minors in Israeli prisons and "security" prisoners.

Hamas is also demanding the import of more fuel into the coastal strip.

The report also said it was still unclear whether the deal would go ahead. One problem is that there has been little contact with the head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yehya al-Sinwar. He had not yet given a clear, final response via the mediators in Qatar, the report said.

Israel assumes that al-Sinwar has been in underground hiding since the beginning of the war. He was last believed to be in his birthplace of Khan Yunis in the south of the coastal strip.

The Washington Post also reported that the possible agreement with Hamas had been negotiated in Doha in recent weeks, mediated by Qatar.

Representatives of Israel and the US were represented by Qatari mediators, reports said, citing people familiar with the talks.

The Washington Post said the process of releasing the hostages could begin in the coming days, provided there are no last-minute problems.

The cessation of hostilities should also allow significantly more humanitarian aid, including fuel, to reach the Gaza Strip from Egypt.

However, nothing has yet been officially confirmed. Adrienne Watson, spokeswoman of the US National Security Council, said, "We have not reached a deal yet, but we continue to work hard to reach a deal," in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Hamas and other groups carried out a deadly attack on October 7 in Israel, killing some 1,200 people, and kidnapped around 240 hostages who were brought to the Gaza Strip. Four were later released and one was freed.

The bodies of two Israeli women have also been recovered by Israeli soldiers in Gaza.

It is unclear how many of the others who are being held hostage are still alive. Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari put the number of hostages at 236 on Saturday evening.

Israel meanwhile continued its massive air bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza, which has killed over 11,500 civilians, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza.

At least 47 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza since Saturday, according to statistics published by the Nasser Hospital on Sunday.

A photographer told dpa there were many body bags lined up in the hospital.

One picture showed a father holding the body of his young son in his arms.

The Israeli army has not yet released a statement on the reports of attacks in the south of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Saturday that the attacks in the Gaza Strip would soon be extended to the south.

That comes after the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) calls on residents of the north to flee to a zone in the south, west of Khan Yunis. More recently, Khan Yunis residents were also told to flee.

As the bombardment continues, some 10,000 people fled from the north of the Gaza Strip towards the south in the course of Saturday, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Gazans were responding to the instructions of the Israel Defense Forces who have been repeatedly telling civilians to leave the northern part of the coastal area.

The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza has risen to 12,300 since the start of the war, according to the Hamas authorities.

Around 30,000 people have been injured, the government press office in Gaza said on Saturday evening.

Those killed include more than 5,000 children and young people.

Thousands of people are also missing.

Meanwhile according to Israeli military figures, 59 soldiers have been killed since Israel began its ground operations in the Gaza Strip.

A total of 380 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the October 7 attacks, an IDF spokesman said.