By Abdelraouf Arna'out
JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Monday said talks are still taking place to determine the names of the Israelis to be released later today under the prisoners swap deal with the Hamas group in Gaza.
"Negotiations on the list of those slated to be released under the framework of the hostages release outline are continuing," Netanyahu's office said.
"We are aware of the tension in the families and will release additional information when possible," the statement also said.
The statement also urged against the spread of rumors and "unreliable information" regarding the list of names to be released.
Early on Monday, Israeli media reported about disagreements between Israel and the Hamas group over the list of Israelis in the fourth and last batch of the prisoners swap deal.
The Israeli public broadcaster KAN said that intensive negotiations under the Qatari and Egyptian mediations are ongoing to settle the conflicting points. It also said that the fourth batch includes the release of 11 Israelis in exchange for releasing 33 Palestinians.
On Nov. 24, the humanitarian pause initially set for four days between Israel and the Palestinian factions entered into force at 7 am local time (GMT0500).
The humanitarian pause agreement includes the release of 50 Israeli captives from Gaza in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinians in four batches over the 4-day truce, as well as the entry of hundreds of trucks loaded with humanitarian relief, and medical and fuel aid to all areas of the Gaza Strip.
Israel launched a massive military campaign in the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.
It has since killed at least 14,854 Palestinians, including 6,150 children and over 4,000 women, according to health authorities in the enclave. The official Israeli death toll stands at 1,200.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar