CAIRO, December 18. /TASS/. The Palestinian Hamas movement has reportedly agreed to release Israeli hostages in need of medical treatment, as well as elderly people and female servicemen held in the Gaza Strip within the framework of the ceasefire agreement, the Al Arabiya TV channel reported.

According to its sources, the next few hours could be crucial for the Gaza talks. The TV channel said that Hamas has dropped its demand for a complete cessation of hostilities in the enclave in the first phase of a ceasefire agreement in the enclave, but insists that residents of northern Gaza should be able to return to their homes without additional searches by the Israeli servicemen.

The channel's sources said that Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, who are expected to be released in exchange for Israeli hostages, will be transferred to Qatar and Turkey after their release, with the approval of Hamas. The names and numbers of these prisoners have not yet been disclosed.

Hamas announced on Tuesday that an agreement with Israel on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages held in the enclave was possible if the Israeli side "stops imposing new conditions". A day earlier, Israel's Ynet news outlet reported, citing a senior official, that mediators and negotiators were making efforts to reach an agreement by the end of this month. The official stated that "most of the details have been agreed upon, but the main stumbling block is the number of hostages to be released in the first phase."