Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has said that only minor challenges remain to a deal to release some of the more than 200 people taken captive into Gaza after Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on October 7.

“The challenges that remain in the negotiations are very minor compared to the bigger challenges. They are more logistical; they are more practical,” Sheikh Mohammed told a joint press conference with the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

Qatar has been acting as an intermediary in negotiations to free those taken captive in Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on October 7, in which at least 1,200 people were killed.

US, Israel, Hamas reach tentative deal to pause conflict

The Washington Post reported, citing people familiar with the deal, that Israel, the United States, and Hamas have reached a tentative agreement to free dozens of women and children held hostage in Gaza in exchange for a five-day pause in fighting.

In a six-page agreement, all parties would freeze combat operations for at least five days while an initial 50 or more hostages are released in smaller groups every 24 hours, the WP reported.

Hamas took about 240 hostages during its Oct. 7 rampage inside Israel that killed at least 1,200 people.

The newspaper said overhead surveillance would monitor ground movement to help police the pause, which also is intended to allow in a significant amount of humanitarian aid.

There was no immediate comment from the White House or the Israeli prime minister's office on the Post report.

The hostage release could begin within the next several days, the WP said.