How many hostages has Hamas released? Hostage deal announcement between could come as soon as Tuesday, sources say [Video]

Qatar is hoping to announce a deal as soon as Tuesday to release civilian hostages taken by Hamas in the October 7 attack in exchange for a pause in fighting, according to a diplomatic source and another source familiar with the talks.

US officials close to the negotiations stressed that while the deal is not done, they are increasingly optimistic and believe the many weeks of difficult work is about to pay off with a hostage release.

“It’s very close,” a senior US official told CNN.

Two Israeli sources said a deal could be announced as soon as Tuesday. The release of the prisoners needs to be approved by the Israeli government but isn’t expected to be an obstacle, one said.

The deal would call for the release of 50 women and children hostages that the militant group took during the October 7 attack on Israel, …