THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR: Hope at last

Hostages & ceasefire deal is getting close. 31 newborns are moved from stricken hospital

-  JEREMY ARMSTRONG

A DEAL to release Israeli hostages in Gaza is close, Qatar's prime minister said yesterday.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani insisted he is growing in confidence over C an agreement, which is understood to involve up to 50 women and children being freed in return for a five-day ceasefire.

It is thought they would be released in small groups every 12 hours. There are about 240 hostages.

A senior US official has suggested a ceasefire deal is needed to ensure the delivery of desperately needed aid in Gaza.

Brett McGurk, the White House co-ordinator for the Middle East, said it would result in a "massive surge of humanitarian relief".

All 31 surviving premature babies at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza have been evacuated to a maternity unit in Rafah in the southern part of the territory.