Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that Israel had pressured Hamas to the extent that a hostage deal with the Iranian-backed group might be possible.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday thanked US President-elect Donald Trump for his strong stance on the hostage crisis involving Hamas. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Netanyahu expressed his gratitude,

According to Israel, 251 Israelis and foreigners were taken on 7 October 2023. Israel's official figure for those held in Gaza is 101 - this includes four people taken hostage in 2014 and 2015. Two of these are believed to have died.

Hamas said it had information that Israel intended to carry out a hostage rescue operation similar to one conducted in Gaza's Nuseirat camp in June and threatened to "neutralize" the captives if such an operation took place,