Israel and mediators agree on outline for hostage deal, pending Hamas okay

Israeli officials guardedly optimistic on prospect of agreement; framework said to include 6-week truce, release of 35-40 hostage women, children, female soldiers, elderly, ill

An Israeli delegation of top security officials returned from talks in Paris on Saturday as reports spread of growing hope in Jerusalem that a new hostage release deal with Hamas could be within reach.

Israel’s war cabinet was conferring by telephone on Saturday evening to discuss the emerging “outline of an agreement,” described by an Israeli official cited widely in media as a “basis on which to build a plan and the principles for negotiations.”

“There’s significant progress and a solid basis for discussions,” the official said.

At the same time, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel that while there was optimism in Israeli media about the likelihood of a deal, the delegation itself was more cautious.

Talks in Paris were held between Israel, American, Egyptian and Qatari representatives who have been working for weeks to secure a deal to free hostages and pause the fighting. However, a key party not present at the Paris talks was Hamas, and it remained to be seen how the group would respond to the latest proposal.