Trump says more hostages to be released from Gaza shortly

Another 10 hostages will be released from Gaza shortly, US President Donald Trump said on Friday, without providing additional details.

Trump made the comment during a dinner with lawmakers at the White House, lauding the efforts of his special envoy Steve Witkoff. Israeli and Hamas negotiators have been taking part in the latest round of ceasefire talks in Doha since July 6, discussing a US-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire.

"We got most of the hostages back. We're going to have another 10 coming very shortly, and we hope to have that finished quickly," Trump said.

Trump has been predicting for weeks that a ceasefire and hostage-release deal was imminent, but agreement has proven elusive.

A spokesperson for the armed wing of Hamas, the Palestinian group Hamas that controls Gaza, on Friday said the group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, but could revert to insisting on a full package deal if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations.

The truce proposal calls for 10 hostages held in Gaza to be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.

Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed more than 58,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.

Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies.

Reuters