ANKARA

Qatar said on Thursday that talks with Egypt on the details of the humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip are going well.

Under the humanitarian pause and hostage deal brokered with the assistance of Egypt, Qatar and the US, 50 hostages held by the Palestinian group Hamas will be released over the course of four days, with Israel handing over 150 Palestinians.

Majed Al Ansari, spokesman for Qatar's Foreign Ministry, said in a statement on X that an announcement on the start time of the pause is expected in the coming hours.

He stressed that work is underway with Israel and Hamas, as well as Egypt and the US, to ensure a swift start to the pause and to provide the required support to guarantee commitment from both sides to the deal.

Israel launched relentless air and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip following a surprise attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.

The number of people killed in Israeli air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since then has risen to 14,532, including over 6,000 children and 4,000 women, the media office in the besieged enclave said Wednesday.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.