Israel and Hamas are close to reaching a hostage deal in which most of the women and children held hostage in Gaza would be released, a senior Israeli official told the Washington Post on Monday evening. Although Israel wants the release of all 100 women and children abducted to Gaza, Hamas is only willing to release 70. In exchange, Israel will release Palestinian females and minors held in Israeli prisons and agree to a ceasefire of five days which would allow for the safe transfer of the hostages and help ease the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza. According to the report, the deal could announced within days if the final details are resolved. One detail still being negotiated on Monday is how Israel will verify that its hostages are being released as it exchanges the Palestinian prisoners. The negotiations for the deal are being carried out indirectly through Qatar, where Hamas’s political leaders are based. Egypt is also playing a helpful role by supporting the negotiations and pressuring Hamas leaders. The Israeli official told the Post that the Israeli government is committed to seeing the release of all hostages, including about 90 male civilians and a small number of soldiers. “We want as many as possible, as quickly as possible, and no one stays behind,” he stressed. According to the official, Hamas holds the majority of the hostages, including a small number of dead bodies. The official added that although some hostages are being held by other groups, Hamas has the power to negotiate for almost all of them. He clarified that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group is holding about 35 hostages and a terror group known as the “shabiha” and other smaller groups hold about 35 more. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)