By Tara Subramaniam, Antoinette Radford, Adrienne Vogt, Aditi Sangal, Elise Hammond and Tori B. Powell, CNN
From CNN's Kaitlan Collins and Alex Marquardt
At least one American citizen being held hostage by Hamas is expected to be handed over in the exchange Wednesday, an Israeli source and a second source familiar with the matter told CNN.
This comes after Israel had been given the names of another group of hostages due to be freed today.
CNN's Francesca Hoffman contributed to this report.
From Lauren Izso in Tel Aviv
Israel is trying to see “whether there is a possibility” to extend the pause in hostilities with Hamas that is set to expire Thursday morning, a senior Israeli official said Wednesday.
When asked if there was an offer on the table to release all hostages for all Palestinians in Israeli prisons, the official said they were “not aware of such a possibility,” adding that “we are doubtful that there is such an offer.”
The official reiterated that Israel believes not all hostages in Gaza are currently held by Hamas.
“We know that whatever (Hamas chief Yahya) Sinwar determines, happens. He can take them from the hands of other factions and make sure the agreement is implemented fully,” the official said.
Some background: More than 40 of the hostages taken from Israel into Gaza on October 7 are not currently held by Hamas, but by other groups or individuals, a diplomatic source briefed on the negotiations told CNN on Monday.
The initial four-day truce, which was slated to end Tuesday, marked the first major diplomatic breakthrough in the conflict, bringing temporary respite to the besieged enclave and allowing the release of some hostages and prisoners.
From Chris Stern in Berlin
Germany is increasing its humanitarian aid by an additional $19.7 million (nearly 18 million euros) to support the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, the German Foreign Office said.
The goal is to provide the civilian population with essential supplies such as water, food, medicine and clothing, spokesperson Sebastian Fischer said in Berlin on Wednesday.
The additional aid will bring Germany's aid to Gaza to a total of almost $196 million (about 179 million euros) this year, Fischer noted.
The ceasefire must "last as long as possible so that we can get the urgently needed aid to the people in Gaza,” he added.
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy in London
Negotiations are "moving towards" releasing civilian men held hostage in Gaza, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari told CNN Wednesday.
"Our negotiations regarding women and children take paramount position within the discussions, but obviously we are moving towards civilian men being released," Al-Ansari, also an adviser to the Qatari prime minister, told CNN's Kaitlan Collins.
Longer discussions are also being carried out regarding the release of serving Israeli soldiers who are being held, alongside the prospect of brokering a "longer truce" that could "lead to a ceasefire," according to Al-Ansari.
The Qatari adviser did not confirm if any American hostages are on the list to be released Wednesday, responding, "I can't comment on that right now for the safety of the hostages and for the success of the exchange today."
From CNN’s Jennifer Hansler
The United States' envoy for hostage affairs is in Israel, a State Department official told CNN Wednesday.
Roger Carstens' visit comes as US efforts to extend the truce and get more hostages freed continue.
Carstens will support US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip this week and will meet with families of American hostages and Israeli government counterparts, the official said.
US Deputy Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Steve Gillen is still in Israel, where he has been for more than a month.
The discussion over the hostages has been led in recent weeks by CIA Director Bill Burns, who was in Qatar for talks on Tuesday.
From CNN’s MJ Lee, Alex Marquardt and Becky Anderson
Red Cross officials have not yet been allowed to visit hostages that Hamas is holding in Gaza, multiple sources have told CNN – a violation of an agreement struck between Israel and Hamas, which stipulated that the Red Cross would be able to visit the hostages by the end of the fourth day of the truce.
US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said over the weekend that as a part of the Israel-Hamas truce agreement, Red Cross officials would be able to visit hostages still held captive in Gaza “by the end of the fourth day.” Another source familiar with the terms of the agreement echoed that this was an aspect of the deal.
The US has been asking Qatari mediators to press Hamas on Red Cross access to the remaining hostages as well as providing proof of life as part of the US effort to extend the pause and hostage releases as long as possible, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
But the delay in Red Cross officials visiting hostages in Gaza did not appear likely to derail the truce agreement for now, one of the sources told CNN, as Hamas continues to release hostages each day of the pause in fighting.
In a statement to CNN, International Committee of the Red Cross spokesperson Jason Straziuso stressed that the group was not involved in the Israel-Hamas negotiations and that it can “only implement measures that both sides tell us they have agreed to.”
“We've been insisting since day one in direct conversations with Hamas that they release the hostages, barring that, that we be allowed to visit the hostages, and that the hostages be allowed to communicate with their families,” Straziuso said.
“We are ready to visit the hostages held by Hamas to check on their welfare and deliver medication but can do so only if we have permission. We do not know where the hostages are held and could not and would not force ourselves in to visit, action that could endanger anyone being held,” he added.
From CNN's Sophie Tanno
Qatar is "very optimistic" an extension to the truce between Israel and Hamas will be announced in the coming hours, following the expected release of the sixth set of hostages, a foreign ministry spokesman told CNN.
International mediators have been pushing for an extension of the agreement as the truce between the warring sides entered its final day on Wednesday.
Speaking to CNN's Kaitlan Collins, spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said: "We are hopeful that within in a couple of hours we will have the release of the final batch [of hostages] but also we will be able to announce an extension."
“We are very optimistic that we will have good news to share today," he added.
Saying that negotiations are ongoing, Al-Ansari added that any new extension would be under the same parameters of the previous agreements.
When pressed for details on the conditions and safety of the remaining hostages, Al-Ansari said negotiations were happening in a "positive environment" while pointing out "we are talking about a war zone with a lot of complications on the ground."
He also said that the release of adult males and Israel Defence Forces soldiers have been topics for discussion and they could be released in the near future.
“We have prioritized those who are most at risk within the hostages regarding women and children who taken paramount. We are moving towards civilian men being released and then having the longer discussions regarding [IDF] soldiers.”
From CNN Staff
Discussions are underway as negotiators are working toward another potential extension of the truce between Israel and Hamas.
The current agreement has entered its sixth and potentially final day. Israel has also been given the names of another group of hostages due to be released Wednesday. This will be the second release in the extension of the truce.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on his way to the Middle East with a goal: to extend the pause in Israel's offensive in Gaza.
He said at a news conference Wednesday that the US wanted the pause "so that we continue to get more hostages out and more humanitarian assistance in."
“We'll discuss with Israel how it can achieve its objective of ensuring that the terrorist attacks of October 7 never happen again, while sustaining and increasing humanitarian assistance and minimizing further suffering and casualties among Palestinian civilians,” the top US diplomat said.
Blinken will attend meetings in Israel, the West Bank, and the United Arab Emirates. He will arrive in Israel as the truce brokered by the US, Qatar and Egypt is on the verge of expiring. Officials representing those countries are in consensus about working toward extending the pause, a source familiar with the matter said.
If you're just joining our coverage, here's the latest:
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
As US Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads back to the Middle East, he will be focused on extending the pause in Israel’s offensive in Gaza, "so that we continue to get more hostages out and more humanitarian assistance in," he said at a news conference in Brussels Wednesday.
Blinken will make his third trip to the region, with meetings in Israel, the West Bank and the United Arab Emirates in the coming days. He will arrive in Israel as the truce brokered by the US, Qatar and Egypt is on the verge of expiring.
“We'd like to see the pause extended because what it has enabled, first and foremost, is hostages being released and being united with their families,” Blinken said. “It's also enabled us to surge humanitarian assistance into the people of Gaza who so desperately need it. So, its continuation, by definition, means that more hostages would be coming home, more assistance would be getting in.”
“We'll discuss with Israel how it can achieve its objective of ensuring that the terrorist attacks of October 7 never happen again, while sustaining and increasing humanitarian assistance and minimizing further suffering and casualties among Palestinian civilians,” the top US diplomat said.
He said he would be focused, as in trips past, on ensuring the conflict does not spread, and on the “day after” for Gaza.
“Right now, everyone is focused on the day of what's happening in Gaza right now, but we also need to be focused at the same time — and we are in conversations with many other countries — on what I've called, both the day after and the day after the day after. By the day after I mean, what happens in Gaza once the campaign is over. There are important questions about its governance, its security, its reconstruction,” Blinken said, referencing the parameters he outlined in Japan weeks ago for governance of Gaza.
He described the “day after the day after” as “how do we get on a clear path to meeting the legitimate political aspirations of the Palestinian people, which, really, in our judgment, is the only way to durable peace and durable security for everyone, starting for Israel and Israelis."
“These are conversations that we'll pursue in the days ahead in the weeks ahead, in the months ahead,” he said.
