MOSCOW, July 22. /TASS/. The next few days will be critical for truce talks between Israel and the Gaza-based Palestinian group Hamas, a source in the Israeli Foreign Ministry told TASS.

According to the source, within the framework of a new deal, the Israeli side hopes to recover another 10 hostages and the bodies of those deceased.

"Negotiations are currently underway to reach a truce agreement with Hamas. The following days will be decisive. We hope that within the framework [of this deal], Hamas will release some hostages, 10 individuals. And will return some of the deceased," the source noted.

That said, the source pointed out that the Israeli side does not rule out intensified combat in Gaza if the negotiations with Hamas fail. "If the deal is not reached, then militarily, the same will continue on the ground or even worse," the source stressed.

Earlier, the Maan news agency, which is close to the radical group, reported that a truce agreement between Hamas and the Israeli side on a ceasefire and the release of several hostages will be signed in the coming days.