Israel is fully committed to reaching an agreement to return its hostages from Gaza but faces obstruction from Hamas, a senior Israeli foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
"Hamas is the only obstacle to the release of the hostages," foreign ministry director general Eden Bar Tal told a briefing with reporters.
Both Israel and Hamas are under pressure from outgoing US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump to reach a deal before the Jan. 20 inauguration. But the sides have come close before, only to have talks collapse over various disagreements.
Israel says about 100 hostages remain in Gaza — at least a third of whom it believes were killed during the Oct. 7 attack or died in captivity.
The first batch of hostages to be released is expected to be made up mostly of women, older people and people with medical conditions, according to the Israeli, Egyptian and Hamas officials.
