The release of a significant number of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza could take place "in a few days". Israeli and foreign sources quoted by Haaretz said this.

One of these added that the two sides hope to finalize the agreement "in two days, perhaps even less depending on the progress of the negotiations". Israel wants to close the dossier as soon as possible out of fear that becoming involved in a war within the Strip would hinder the possibility of releasing the hostages at a later stage.

Meanwhile, while Israel prepares the land offensive, the Jewish State's raids in the Strip continue. And the number of victims is increasing: at least 18 people died and 40 were injured in the latest aerial bombardment aimed at the family of Yunis Al Astal, a member of Hamas, in Khan Yunis.

The Israeli army announced that it had killed the deputy head of Hamas intelligence, Shadi Barud, considered the right-hand man of the terrorist organization's political leader, Yahya Sinwar, in an air strike . Barud is believed by Israel to be among those responsible for planning the October 7 Hamas attack together with Sinwar.

“In his previous role as head of the Hamas Operational Unit Control Center, Barud planned the barbaric attack on October 7 together with Yahya Sinwar,” the Israeli army reports. Barud had previously been “commander of the Hamas battalion in Khan Yunis and was responsible for planning numerous terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. Subsequently, he held several positions in Hamas military intelligence and was responsible for information security. Until today he was responsible for intelligence reports for Hamas,” concludes the Israeli army.

In the meantime, representatives of Hamas have gone to Moscow for talks, Russian diplomatic sources report. As the Russian Foreign Ministry reported to TASS, the release of the hostages and the evacuation of Russians from the Gaza Strip were discussed. “A member of the political bureau of the Islamic resistance movement Hamas, Abu Marzuk, is in Moscow,” the ministry said.

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(Unioneonline/lf-D)

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