US President Donald Trump said that ten more hostages would be released from Gaza soon, without providing further details.
Trump made the announcement during a dinner with lawmakers at the White House, praising the efforts of his special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Israeli and Hamas negotiators have been participating in the latest round of ceasefire talks in Doha since July 6, discussing a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce.
“We have returned most of the hostages. We will have ten more very soon and hopefully it will be completed quickly,” Trump said.
The US leader has predicted for weeks that a ceasefire and a hostage release agreement were imminent, but an agreement has proven elusive.
A spokesman for the armed wing of Hamas, the Palestinian group that controls Gaza, said on Friday that the group was in favor of a temporary ceasefire in the war in Gaza but could return to insisting on a full package of agreements if an agreement is not reached in the current talks.
The ceasefire proposal calls for the return of ten hostages held in Gaza, along with the bodies of 18 others, spread over 60 days. In return, Israel would release several Palestinian detainees.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 58,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
Nearly 650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in the conflict, including 1,200 killed in a Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures, Reuters reported.
