TEL AVIV, December 6. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirms that 138 people are still being held hostage by radical Palestinian movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Jerusalem Post reported on Wednesday citing IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari.

According to the report, one person who was listed as missing since October 7, was confirmed to be among the 138 hostages. Among them are also 20 women and children.

On November 22, Hamas announced an agreement with Israel, which was brokered by Egypt and Qatar, on a four-day humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip, which took effect at 7:00 a.m. local time (5:00 a.m. GMT) on November 24. The deal stipulated the release of Israeli women and children being held hostage in Gaza in exchange for the release of Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons.

The sides extended the ceasefire several times but on the morning of December 1 the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that Hamas had violated the truce in Gaza and opened fire on Israeli territory, thus prompting the IDF to resume combat operations in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian authorities placed the blame for the resumed hostilities on the United States.