Israel and Hamas have agreed to prolong a temporary cease-fire for an eighth day in exchange for the release of more Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Egyptian authorities.
Neither Israel nor Hamas responded immediately.
The Israeli prime minister's office verified late Thursday that Israeli hostages liberated in the Gaza Strip had returned to Israel.
The six—four adults, a 17-year-old girl, and an 18-year-old male—were released after two women, including a French-Israeli dual national, were released earlier in the day.
This reduced the total number of Israeli captives liberated on Thursday to eight, whereas the peace deal requires a minimum of ten Israeli hostages to be released alive each day.
The disparity emerged as negotiators worked to prolong the truce, which was set to expire at 0500 GMT on Friday.
According to an AFP source close to Hamas, the two Russian-Israeli women released on Wednesday were counted in addition to the needed ten as part of the seventh group liberated, thus "the number of (hostages) in the seventh group is ten."
Sounds of gunfire and explosions were heard in northern Gaza early Friday, according to the Shehab News Agency, which is connected to Hamas and reported on Telegram.
The news agency did not disclose any more information. Reuters was unable to corroborate the report immediately.