Israel, Hamas agree to temporary cease-fire, hostage release deal including freeing 3 Americans

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a temporary cease-fire for humanitarian purposes that includes a hostage release deal, Fox News has confirmed. 

"The Israeli government is committed to the return of all hostages home. Tonight, the government approved the outline for the first stage of achieving this goal, according to which at least 50 hostages – women and children – will be released for 4 days, during which there will be a lull in the fighting," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement. 

"The release of every ten additional hostages will result in an additional day of respite. The Israeli government, the IDF and the security forces will continue the war in order to return all the hostages, to complete the elimination of Hamas and to ensure that Gaza does not renew any threat to the State of Israel."

The cease-fire was officially announced hours after Israeli and Hamas leaders said Tuesday that negotiations were in their final stages. Qatari negotiators helped broker the agreement, which would take effect at 10 a.m. local time – 3 a.m. ET – Thursday, according to Egypt's state-run Qahera TV channel.